IMPLICATIONS OF PHYSICAL AND INTELLECTUAL GROWTH CHARACTERISTICS, INTERESTS, AND CULTURAL FORCES FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE MIDDLE SCHOOL PROGRAM Thesis for the Degree of Ed. D. MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY IOHN WARREN VAUGHN 1969 THES'. This is to certify that the . ‘ k, f ‘ thesis entitled IMPLICATIONS OF PHYSICAL AND INTELLECTUAL. GROWTH CHARACTERISTICS, INTERESTS, AND CULTURAL FORCES FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE MIDDIE SCHOOL PROGRAM presented by JOHN WARREN VAUGHN has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for Ed. D. degree in ELEMENTARY EDUCATION Date __JL1_11_2. 0-169 ABSTRACT IMPLICATIONS OF PHYSICAL AND INTELLECTUAL GROWTH CHARACTERISTICS, INTERESTS, AND CULTURAL FORCES FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE MIDDLE SCHOOL PROGRAM By John Warren Vaughn This study attempts to analyze research on the physical growth characteristics, intellectual growth characteristics, and interests of students ten— to four- teen-years-old. These factors, viewed in light of rapi- dly changing cultural forces are used to provide the basis for the development of guidelines which are offered as a general Operational framework for a middle school program. The research on physical growth revealed that human growth patterns are undergoing constant alteration in the direction of earlier maturation. The evidence indicated that, physically, students are beginning their ascent to adulthood sooner. In our American culture, these physi— cal growth changes create many internal and external pres- sures on students over which they have little control. This often results in emotional and social anxiety and increasing tension. These growth changes have implica- tions for education. School programs should be based on IMPLICATIONS OF PHYSICAL AND INTELLECTUAL GROWTH CHARACTERISTICS, INTERESTS, AND CULTURAL FORCES FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE MIDDLE SCHOOL PROGRAM By John Warren Vaughn A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF EDUCATION Department of Elementary Education and Special Education 1969 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The author is indebted to the members of his com- mittee: Dr. Jean M. LePere, Dr. William V. Hicks, Dr. Calhoun Collier, and Dr. Wilbur B. Brookover. The author is also grateful to his patient family. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS LIST OF Chapter I. II. III. IV. TABLES . . . DESCRIPTION OF THE STUDY . . . . . Introduction. . . . . . The Need for the Study . . . . Definition . . . . . . . The Problem . . . . .. . Method of Study. . . . . Limitations of the Study. . . . Review of the Literature. . . . PHYSICAL AND INTELLECTUAL GROWTH AND CULTURAL FACTORS . . . . . Physical Growth. . . . . . . Intellectual Growth . . . . Cultural Factors . . . . . . INTERESTS OF MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS. Review of the Literature. Analysis of Interest Survey Conducted in Three Suburban School Districts. Children's Wishes . . Findings on the School Program. Out- of-School Interests . . . “Likes and Dislikes at School Adult Goals . . . . . . . School Organization . . . . . Summary . . . . . . . . . . GUIDELINES FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF A MIDDLE SCHOOL PROGRAM . Climate for Learning . Relationship of Physical Growth to School Program . . Intellectual Development .and the School Program . . . . . . iii Page ii 11 16 16 19 2O 21 21 A2 66 76 78 83 88 97 100 103 104 104 109 112 112 112 118 Chapter Page V. SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS . . . . . 129 Summary . . . . . . . . . . 129 Recommendations. . . . . . . . . 132 BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 APPENDICES A. The Interest Inventory . . 14” B. The Interest Inventory Instructions .for Teachers . . . 146 C. Categories Used in Analysis of Children's Wishes, Likes, and Dislikes . . . . 148 iv LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. My three wishes including wishes pertaining to life in and out of school . . . . . . 89 2. Sex differences in children's wishes . . . . 96 3. What I'd like to learn more about in school. . 98 A. I don't care to study about . . . . . . . 99 S. I like best outside school—-when I'm not in school . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 6. Type of organization of classrooms in the survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 7. Student preferences regarding working and playing with students, and working with teachers. . . . . . . 107 CHAPTER I DESCRIPTION OF THE STUDY Introduction The past two decades have seen the advent of many educational innovations designed to reform the curricula of the schools. The reforms started with the Physical Science Study Committees in the 1950's and now include a myriad of projects in all the subject areas. While granting the positive contributions of the curriculum reformers, Sizerl points out an important limitation. "The major weakness of the reform movement today is its tacit acceptance of the way schools are presently organized."2 One current innovation which may eventually have great impact on educational reform, and which certainly seeks to challenge conventional organizational patterns, is the emerging middle school program. The middle school is defined as: . a program planned for a range of older children, pre- -adolescents and early adolescents that builds upon the elementary school program 1T. R. Sizer, "Reform Movement or Panacea?" Saturday Review, June 19, 1965, pp. 52-53, 72. 2 Ibid., p. 52. for earlier childhood and in turn is built upon by the high school's program for adolescence.3 A nationwide survey was conducted in 1966 to deter— mine the trends in the middle-school movement. This sur- vey revealed that AA6 public-school districts in 29 states were operating A99 middle schools-~schools which had grades 6 and 7 but did not extend above grade 8 nor below grade A.“ In most school systems the term "middle school" simply refers to the "junior high school." The junior high school concept had its beginnings around the turn of the century when the Columbus, Ohio and Berkeley, California school systems developed 6-3-3 plans in 1909-10; however, Richmond, Indiana had placed its seventh and eighth grades in separate buildings as early as 1896.5 Many of the early reorganizations, away from the 8-A plan, were encouraged by increased enrollments, a factor which continues to influence school reorganiza- tion today, but the predominant influence was the desire 3W. M. Alexander, et al., The Emergent Middle School (New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1968), p, 5. “William A. Cuff, "Middle Schools on the March," The Bulletin of the National Association of Secondary School Principals, 51 (Feb., 1967), 82-86. 5"What Type of Middle School Organization Pro- vides The Greatest Opportunity for the Development of the Adolescent?" Improvement in Secondary Education Through Group_Studies, Sixteenth Yearbook, Penn. Branch Natéonal Association Secondary School Principals, 1960, n. O. to develop a school program that would provide a more suitable educational setting for adolescents. Educa- tional change does come on a broken front: some schools by virtue of size or philosophy have not adopted the two— year junior high. The three-year junior high is still considered a questionable innovation in many districts. Still other districts view the two- and three-year junior high as outmoded and are turning to the three- or four- year middle school concept as the most desirable environ- ment for preadolescents and early adolescents. Conant, noting this phenomenon of diversity nearly a decade ago observed that his 1960 survey found that there was no consensus among educators as to the best organizational scheme for students in the transitional years between 6 elementary school and secondary school. The Need for the Study The purpose of this study is to examine and compare the characteristics, needs and interests of preadolescent and early adolescent boys and girls and to make practical recommendations concerning the instructional program and organizational schemes that are most apprOpriate for students at the intermediate level. 6James B. Conant, Recommendations for Education in the Junior High School Years (Princeton, New Jersey: Edu- cational Testing Service, 1960), pp. 9-11. Recent surveys reveal a general uniformity and even conformity in middle-school course offerings. Regular class activities and extra class activities are almost identical in schools that were surveyed. Not one instance of interscholastic athletic activities was found and English, social studies, mathematics, science, art, music, and physical education were standard in all grades.7 The 5-3-A plan was the most common, being used in 55 per cent of the districts while 30 per cent used the A-A-A plan and nine per cent favored the 3-5-A organiza- tion.8 I The rationale for the growth of middle schools is minimal and inconsistent. There were very few middle schools in Cuff's survey that came about as the result of specific middle-school planning and conception.9 "Most of the decisions on what grades should be housed "10 together seem to hinge on tradition Perhaps worse than tradition is the tendency for boards of educa— tion to remedy overcrowding by placing students together on the basis of the availability of space. Other reasons obtained for the growth of middle schools: integration is a factor in some cities, ‘ 7Cuff, op. cit., p. 83. 8Ibid. 9Ihid. loRay Budde, "(5)-6-7-8, The Middle School of the IFuture," Michigan Journal of Secondary Education, 6:1 (Fall, 196A), A3. population shifts within cities create abandoned build— ings, pressure to restore the four-year high school eliminates the ninth-grade from the junior high in some cases, and temporary housing arrangements created others.ll Educators and laymen argue that the middle school movement is filling a void created by the functional failure of the traditional junior high. There are those who assert that the junior high, encumbered by the re- quirement of offering a ninth-grade high-school curriculum, has never been able to develop an identity of its own, one which is characteristic of the student it serves and thus it is dying for lack of purpose.12 "For the 1960's and 1970's the junior high school is no longer a defensible unit of vertical school organization."13 The arguments favoring the growth of middle schools seem to be in the negative: what we have isn't working--let's replace it with something better. Unfortunately, the process being used in the search for what's "better" has not been clearly defined and models of the "better" are sorely lacking. Education in the last three decades of the twentieth century must prepare students to be effective citizens who 11Cuff, op. cit., p. 8A. l2Eugene E. Regan, "The Junior High School is Dead," The Clearing House, A2:3 (November, 1967), 151. l3Budde, op. cit., pp. AA-A5. will spend the majority of their years as citizens of the twenty-first century. Given no dissatisfaction with the program or organization of the junior high school today, it would behoove thoughtful educators to review the current understanding of human growth and development and the sociological changes taking place today with a view toward providing a curriculum which is able to cope with the complex social needs of today and the foreseeable future. Current literature on the middle school is limited in quantity, and with very few exceptions, limited in its theoretical perspective of the function of middle school education. Most writers still see the middle school as ". . . a transitional unit between childhood education in the elementary school and later adolescent education in the high school."lu Grooms, writing in 1967, identifies the middle school ". . . as the administrative unit following the elementary and preceeding the secondary school."15 Granted that middle schools provide a program for students who are neither elementary nor secondary, the emphasis on transition has worked to the obvious disadvantage of the student and his program. To be tied so closely to both 1”Samuel H. Popper, The American Middle School (Waltham, Mass.: Blaisdell Publishing Company, 1967), p. xii. 15M. Ann Grooms, Perspectives on the Middle School (Columbus: Charles E. Merrill Books, Inc., 1967), p. A. elementary and secondary education has placed a burden on the middle school program that has resulted in its past failure (when it was the junior high) and has jeopardized its future. This study, therefore, will attempt to examine the characteristics, needs, and interests of preadolescents and early adolescents and to determine their implications for an educational program. The study is premised on the following assumptions: 1. A person's interests or wishes reveal much concerning his outlook on life. Findings with regard to the interests of children will tell us much that is significant for their educa- tion.16 2. The mental, emotional, physical, and social relationships, that are the characteristics of middle—school students, have strong implica- tions for program building. 3. Children between ten and fourteen need physical and cognitive experiences appropriate to their age range. The assumptions imply that the educator's under— standing of the developmental growth of children should provide the basis or rationale for the organization ‘ 16Arthur T. Jersild and Ruth J. Tasch, Children's Interests (New York: Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University, 19A9), p. 9. and program of the school. As Bruner said in Toward a Theory of Instruction It would seem much more sensible to put evalua- tion into the picture before and during cur- riculum construction as a form of intelligence Operation to help the curriculum maker in his choice of material, in his approach, in his manner of setting tasks for the 1earner.l7 Bruner is making a plea for a theory of instruction as a guide to pedagogy. He sees educators developing a pre- scriptive theory ". . . that is neutral with respect to ends but exhaustive with respect to means."18 Much of the debate concerning the middle school movement centers around the proper grade levels to house together. This is an argument that should be avoided. It presupposes that grade level designations are the sole appropriate ways of providing some general horizontal and vertical groupings of students. "The realities of child development defy the rigorous ordering of children's abilities and attainments into conventional graded struc- l9 ture." Boys and girls from 10 to 1A have social, physi- cal, emotional, and mental ranges that make grade level designations (impractical) in accommodating their developmental patterns. Students need to be treated as k l7Jerome Bruner, Toward a Theory of Instruction (Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press, 1966), p. 30. 18Ibid., p. 31. 19John I. Goodlad and Robert H. Anderson, The Nongraded Elementary School (New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, Inc., 1963), p. 3. individuals and the place of grade levels ". . . in the organization of a school system is of less importance than the program provided for adolescent youth."2O Grooms supports this definition by describing a middle school where "the basic organizational component is the team consisting of student and teacher units."21 However, the concern in education for recognizing the individuality of students is one that poses certain problems for educators. As Simpson22 views it The dilemma in education is the dilemma drawn from the extremes of these two views: separa— tion, in which the individual must be his own self at any cost, and recognition, in which the strength drawn from the group has as its price the abandonment of individuation. Is the role of education to provide the child with recogni- tion, with group membership and belonging - an unthreatened mass identity - which ignores the cost of conformity? The more thoroughly the child is socialized . . . the more he accepts its (the group's) perceptions and abandons his own. He is freed from the fears of isolation and loses . . . the tension and awareness which force him to utilize his own senses and mind. Is the role for education, then, the Opposite, to allow for individuation and separation at the cost of group cohesion? No society whose mem— bers reject their membership can survive; a group is only individuals who perceive them- selves to be in a particular relationship to each other. 2OConant, op. cit., p. 12. 21Grooms, op. cit., p. 6. 22E. L. Simpson, "The Individual in the Group," E15; Delta Kappan, Vol. 50, No. 6 (February, 1969), 322—323. 10 Simpson stresses the danger to society and the individual ". . . in following the doctrine of individua- tion to its logical extreme."23 Recognition and separation needs are in a delicate balance. The group for which we are educating the child must not ask too much of the individual — if by too much we mean the oss of selfhood - nor the individual too much of the group - if by too much we mean its dis— integration as an entity. Any viable school program designed for older child- ren, preadolescents and early adolescents, must recognize the contribution of individuals to groups and groups to individuals. Waller contends that our ultimate goal is ". . . to breed a generation of individuals who think for themselves and then integrate their thoughts, values, and commitments to the group . . . "25 It is Simpson's view that individuals must get their thoughts, values and commitments £32m the group and that ". . . to begin with individualism does not seem possible."26 This study will attempt to identify needs, interests 61nd characteristics of middle—school students as they :interact with various types of groups. 23Ibid., p. 323. 2L‘Ibid., p. 322. 25L. Waller, "Our Ultimate Goal," Social Education, \fol. 31, No. 8 (December, 1967), 702. 26Simpson, Op. cit., p. 322. 11 Definition This study focuses on children and their school programs-—children who range roughly in age from 10 to 1A and by the definition used here are preadolescent and early adolescent children. "Adolescence is frequently defined as the intermediate stage between childhood and adulthood."27 The problem with this definition, however, is that it implies that adolescnece is a discrete period that begins after childhood is over and before adulthood begins. "Some authorities divide adolescence into three periods: pre—adolescence, adolescence, and post- 28 adolescence." For the purposes of this paper the term pre-adolescence will refer to the period of physical and psychological change that begins gradually at the onset of pubescence; this period of change usually begins at about 10 in girls and about the age of 12 in boys. Since adolescence terminates physically with the establishment (Df mature body structure and psychologically with the esstablishment of relatively consistent interpersonal Icelationships, this paper assumes early adolescent boys Eand girls to be still moving toward physical and psycho— llogical maturity. 27Irene M. Josselyn, The Adolescent and His World (New York: Family Service Association of America, 1952), p. 3. 28Ibid., p. 6. 12 The characteristics of preadolescents and early adolescents will include physiological and psychological aspects. Numerous physiological and physical changes occur during this period: 1. 5. Girls show a spurt in skeletal growth begin- ning about ten and terminating between the ages of twelve and thirteen.29 Boys start growing a year or two later than girls and continue throughout the early adolescent period. Glandular changes related to puberty bring about the development of masculine and feminine characteristics. The growth of these char- acteristics continue past the age of 1A in most cases for both boys and girls.30 The basal metabolism rate changes (decreases) at the onset of puberty resulting in temporar— ily reduced physical activity in pre- 31 adolescence. The size of the heart doubles. The phychological characteristics of preadolescent andl early adolescent boys and girls include: 29Ibid., p. 11. 30Max L. Hutt and Robert G. Gibby, The Child (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, Inc., 1959), p- 311- 31Ibid., p. 312. 13 32 1. increasing ego strength 2. a minimum level of anxiety 3. an increased sense of responsibility and independence A. a great need to be recognized as an adult 5. an intensified drive to activity in early adolescence 6. an uncertainty as to his ability Grooms, in Perspectives on the Middle School, searched the literature and described students in the lO-lA age group as being: Vigorous, inquisitive individuals on the thres- hold of adulthood Sometimes awkward and uncertain, sometimes facile and adept, often troubled by self- assessment Frequently astonished by newly evolving powers Assiduously requiring proper occasions for exploration and venture Now and then capable of adult behavior and responses Often in need of opportunities for trial and error in situations where mistakes are admittable.33 These lists of characteristics are not designed to ‘be exhaustive--they are intended to provide a framework for the definition or the term "characteristics." The term interests, for the purposes of this study, Cieals with children's wishes, likes, and dislikes. What Eire the interests of children and what implications do 5; 32 33 Josselyn, Op. cit., p. 17. Grooms, op. cit., p. 1A. 1A they have for the school? According to Jersild we should ". . . look upon interests not primarily as aids or guides to learning but as forms of experience through which the child discovers and realizes the resources of his nature."3u This implies that we should not merely uti- lize the interests a child has acquired as a guide to what and how to teach, rather, the interests can be ". . . the medium through which the child is helped to find a place in his social environment that is comfortable to him and others."35 Nppdg will be defined from a human development view- point as well as a social-emotional viewpoint. These needs for the 10-lA year old group might be stated as follows: 1. Environmental conditions to maintain growth and health. 2. A program of health services, practices, and instruction to educate children in the care of their bodies. 3. Conditions to enable children to gain the affection of those upon whom they depend. A. Conditions to enable children to develop the skills and attitudes which are fundamental to a sense of security. 3“Jersild and Tasch, Op. cit., p. 86. 35Ibid. 15 5. Conditions to help each child develop a sense of worth and self-respect. 6. A school program to meet the needs of children for self-guidance and independence. 7. Curriculum opportunity to help each child grow continuously in academic understandings, powers of expression, emotional resources and working with others. Mead emphasizes that early adolescent needs are changing dramatically. One of the striking features of the last two decades has been the steady spread downwards in age level of dating; going steady; pairing— off (rather than one-sex friendship); and in emphasis on vocational choice, criminal be- havior, competetive athletics, religious affilia- tion, and permission to spend money on an in— creasingly lavish scale. The emphasis on earlier and earlier participation in adult activities is superficially incongruent with the junior high school movement designed as it was to protect the young adolescent by a separate pace of slower induction into the com— plexities of high school life. . . . When a type of school that was designed to cushion the shock of change in scholastic demands has become the focus of social pressures which were once exerted36 in high school the problems have been multiplied. Mead fears that the schools will continue to provide a program for early adolescents that is not appropriate to their changing physical and social needs. Among her 36M. Mead, "Early Adolescence in the United States," a chapter from "The Changing Junior High School Student," Bulletin of NASSP, Vol.‘A9, No. 300 (April, 1965), 5-10. 16 recommendations for corrective measures are the follow— ing: far better early childhood education; more differ— entiation by special interests within the schools; more association of middle-school students with younger and older students; and more recognition that middle school students have vastly different levels of physical, emo— tional and intellectual maturity. To Mead the students from 10- to lA-years-old are ". . . more unlike each other than they have ever been before or ever will be again in the course of their lives."37 This paper assumes that during the period of pre— adolescence and early adolescence the pressures from physical, psychological, and social changes create needs (physical, psychological, social) and interests in children that must be given primary consideration when developing a school organizational and instructional plan. The Problem The problem, stated in the form of a question, is: Can a school program be developed for boys and girls, roughly ages 10 to 1A, that reflects their needs, character- istics, and interests? Method of Study This study will attempt to provide a thorough examination of the characteristics, needs, and interests 37Ibid. 17 of middle school students as revealed in a search of the literature. The data collected in the review of the literature will be verified or contrasted by a survey of different student populations. This study will then use these findings to construct a framework of criteria which can serve as guidelines in the establishment of middle school programs. A. Data Collection The study will be divided into three parts. The divisions are as follows: Part One: Description of Study and Review of Literature Chapter I: Chapter II: Part Two: Chapter III: Part Three: Chapter IV: Chapter V: B. Instrumentation: Description of Study Physical and Intellectual Growth and Cultural Factors Survey of Student Populations—- Interests of Middle School Students Guidelines for the Improvement of a Middle School Program Summary and Conclusions An Interest Finder In Millie Almy's, Ways of Studying Children, the value of a teacher's wise use of her knowledge concerning her students' interests is given strong emphasis: "Recog— nizing that a child's happiness and success in school are 18 related to the interests he has, teachers often seek suitable ways of studying interests."38 Almy suggests that there is a suitable instrument for this purpose-- the Interest Finder. It has been used in all grades, from kindergarten through the high school since it was developed by Jersild and Tasch.39 During this study a modified version of the Inter- eSt Finder was administered to randomly-selected students in grades 5-9 from three school populations: in East Lansing; in Warrensville, Ohio, where the suburban popu- lation is rapidly changing from white to Negro; and in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, where the suburban population is 75 per cent Jewish. Since the instrument is designed to discover children's attitudes and feelings as well as their interests, the responses will not only indicate interests but also provide some insight into the charac- teristics and needs of the children. C. Analysis of Data The review of the literature will be used to pro- vide a theoretical framework, from child growth and development research, for a middle school program adapted to the physical and intellectual growth patterns of children. 38Millie Almy, Ways of Studying Children (New York: Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia, 1959, p. 121. 39Jersild and Tasch, op. cit., p. 91. 19 The actual survey of student interests should pro— vide useful data that can be applied to the development of valuable teaching strategies. The responses will be used to answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. A. Are there differences among age levels? Are there differences between boys and girls? Are there differences among racial groups? Are there differences between religious groups? Thus, the guidelines for middle school program planning will be based on a theoretical framework which will be supported by knowledge of the interests and attitudes of children in grades 5-9 from three school populations. Limitations of the Study Guidelines are rarely universally acceptable despite evidence of relative advantage. Authorities in specialized fields will dis- agree about theories of adolescence and the educational implications of those theories. Adolescence can be experienced in many differ- ent ways because of the combination of the major factors bringing pressure on the adoles- cent, thus the educational prescription for adolescence will of necessity be flexible and generalized. 20 A. Schools are under the influence of certain pressures that have not accepted documentary evidence in the past and will surely continue to resist evidence in the future. For example, it can be observed that educators have main- tained school organizations, educational pro- cesses, and teacher education programs geared to students of a prior era.“O Review of the Literature A major portion of this study consists of a review of related literature with a view toward providing docu- mentation for establishing a rationale for planning a middle school program. Thus, it is not appropriate to include an extensive review of the literature in a separate chapter. L‘ODonald H. Eichhorn,The Middle School (New York: Center for Applied Research in Education, Inc., 1966), p. 10A. CHAPTER II PHYSICAL AND INTELLECTUAL GROWTH AND CULTURAL FACTORS Physical Growth Changes in Physical Growth Teachers, parents, and grandparents find it most disturbing to see children growing up in a way which differs from their own experience. This phenomenon is not new; but perhaps the gap between generations is l greater now than it has ever been. Grooms attributes part of this gap to the changes in the maturity rate: Having talked about change and change factors, I want now to look at a particular group of stu- dents in our public schools whom I feel need a changed system of education. I'm talking about the children in the 10- to lA—year-old group. I The rate of maturation of this group has been increasing rapidly in recent years. Students in the 1960's are much more mature than their parents were at similar ages. If Grooms is correct in her assumptions regarding changes in the rate of maturation of middle—school stu- dents, this fact would be of vital interest to educa- tional planners. Effective education for any age level lAnn Grooms, "The Middle School and Other Innova- tions," The Bulletin of the National Association of Secondary School Principals, Some Papers from the Slst Annual Convention, 51:319 (May, 1967), 158. 21 22 must take into account the learner and his biological makeup. If modern nutrition or some combination of fac- tors has made young people larger and physically more mature than earlier generations, we would expect the children of today to have different social and intel— lectual interests than the children of the earlier genera- tions. According to Mead2 there are many complications resulting from early physical maturity: The children of today mature earlier and grow taller than their parents. These coupled with clothes which thirteen-year—olds share with nineteen-year-olds, make them seem bigger, older, more able to handle adult activities. The parent compares his son with his own image of himself as a boy. His junior high school son looks like a college student to him; often without consciously recognizing his own feeling, he treats him as older than he is. Trends It is now generally accepted that due to many factors physical maturation is occurring in individuals at an earlier chronological age than before and a marked trend in physical development is being reported. J. M. 3 observes that Tanner During the last 100 years there has been a very striking tendency for the time of adolescence, as typified by menarche or the adolescent growth spurt, to become earlier. The data on heights and weights of children of school age and before show that the whole process of growth has been 2Mead, op. cit., p. 9. 3J. M. Tanner, Growth at Adolescence (Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publications, 1963), p. 1A3-1AA. 23 progressively speeded-up and that all children born in the 1930's or 1950's for example, were considerably larger than those born in the 1900's. . . . The magnitude of the secular trend is very considerable and dwarfs the dif- ferences between socio-economic classes and between geographical regions within countries such as Sweden and the United States. The United States' trends are similar to those re- ported throughout the Western world. Meredithu cites that in an age group from nine to fourteen, "Boys living in the United States, white and Negro, are 6 to 8 per- cent taller and 12 to 15 percent heavier than was the case half a century ago." Americans are increasing in stature as well. One study suggests that there has been a four-inch increase in height over the past fifty years and that year-by-year college freshman are showing height and weight increases.5 In a similar study by Espenschade,6 additional dramatic growth trends were also revealed. Girls were shown to be one inch taller and six pounds heavier in 1959 than girls, from the same school, who were measured in 193A. Boys, in the same study, were two ”H. V. Meredith, "Stature and Weight of Children of the United States with Reference to the Influence of Racial, Regional, Socio-economic and Secular Factors," American Journal of Diseases of Childhood, Vol. 57 (November, l9Al), 932. 5C. A. Mills, "Temperature Influence Over Human Growth and Development," Human Biology, Vol. 22 (February, 1950), 71. 6Anna Espenschade and H. E. Meleney, "Motor Per- formance of Boys and Girls," The Research Quarterlyyof the_American Association of Health, Physical Education and.Recreation, Vol. 32 (May, 1961), 187. 2A inches taller and ten pounds heavier than boys in 193A. Other statistical studies7 demonstrate a general world trend toward an increase in average height and weights for boys and girls for at least the last century. The few trends that have been identified serve to indicate that, at least physically, the middle-school student of today is not the same as the student of fifty or even twenty years ago. In the remainder of this section an attempt will be made to define the 10—1A year—old in relationship to his physical growth. Physical Development "Physical growth is slow and steady for most child- ren until the beginning of the pre-adolescent spurt "8 Their physical health tends to be very good and immunities to most childhood diseases have been developed.9 Gesell and Ilg see the ten—year-old ". . . in good equilibrium so adaptively and diversely in touch with the adult environment that he seems rather to be an adult in the making."10 7L. Cole and I. N. Hall, Psychology of Adolescence (New York: Holt, Rinehart, Winston, 196A), pp. 23—2A. 8Hutt and Gibby, op. cit., p. 282. 91bid. 10 Arnold Gesell and Frances L. Ilg, The Child From Five to Ten (New York: Harper & Brothers Publishing, 19A6), p. 212. 25 If this quiet, stable period exists, it is not for long. At the age of ten in girls, and a year or two later in boys, the rppg of growth increases and reaches its maximum for girls between the ages of twelve and thirteen, and in boys this maximum in growth occurs about two years later. Boys, who had a height advantage over girls in earlier years, often find themselves going through a three-or-four-year period where their stature is inferior 11 While most boys regain the height superiority to girls. by the age of fiteeen, the middle—school boy will typically spend four years "looking up" to many girls he formerly dominated by his physical strength and prowess. The effect of this reversal in relationships should be con- sidered by those responsible for program develOpment. There are also male-to-male reversals during this period. A group of boys who have been much the same size and strength during the latent period (latent is the term used by English and Pearson to denote the period between infancy and pro-adolescence) may become very dissimilar in size and strength during the early part of adolescence. They are no longer equally capable of competing physically with each other and in their social relations. The rela- tively weaker and smaller ones find themselves at a dis- advantage they had not experienced before.12 llJosselyn, op. cit., p. 11. 12O. Spurgeon English and Gerald H. J. Pearson, Emotional Problems of Living (New York: W. W. Norton and Company. 1955). pp. 323-32A. 26 While studies seem to show, via statistical averages, that there is a normal growth process during which char- acteristic changes occur, the timing of onset of pubscence and magnitude of these changes will vary tremendously from individual to individual. "Not only are there markedly different rates of growth among various individuals, but there are also and often marked differences as to the rate of growth of various systems of organs in the individual himself."l3 Hathaway'slu charts for the height and weight of boys and girls clearly demonstrate differences among individuals at the same ages. In one case, girls at the same ages showed differences of 7, l6, and 12 inches be- tween the tallest and shortest. The differences between the tallest and shortest boys at ages 2, 10, and 19 were successively: A, 10, and 12 inches. It would appear that teachers should expect to find pupils of all sizes and shapes in their classes. The individual variations in growth create severe problems for the child, male or female, whose growth pattern produces an inadequate physique during early adolescence. "In American culture the boy who is short or weak or lightly muscled is likely to lose status among 13Ibid., p. 32A. 1LAM. L. Hathaway, "Heights and Weights of Children and Youth in the United States" (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1957), pp, 92-93. 27 his age-mates . . . "15 For a student who sees himself as awkward, un—coordinated, and poorly-postured due to this erratic or incomplete growth, this period sometimes creates social embarrassments than are humiliating and defeating. He feels inferior and will often attempt to compensate for his feelings of inferiority by ridiculing others, attempting to do the physically impossible, exercising to change his body, and at times, withdrawing from society to hide his embarrassment. Jersildl6 found in a study that middle-school children most often mentioned physical characteristics in describing what they liked and disliked about them- sevles. "At the senior-high—school and college levels there was less mention of physical characteristics than at the middle high school range."l7 Jersild maintains that a person may have a generally positive body image or he may have a generally negative body image, and body size is a major factor in the develOpment of this self- view. "Body size was mentioned considerably more often in accounts of what was disliked than in descriptions of what was liked, and this greater frequency of mention of dislike held true consistently for all grade levels."18 15Simpson, op. cit., p. 29. 16A. T. Jersild, In Search of Self (Bureau of Publi— cations, Teachers College, Columbia, 1952), p. 6A. 17Ibid. 18 Ibid., p. 68. 28 It is probably well to re—emphasize the importance of the vast differences between and within individuals. Children are maturing earlier and they are taller and heavier than earlier generations; however, it must be pointed out that the differences still exist. It is painfully obvious to observers who visit the middle- school classrooms that men, women, and children can be seen occupying adjacent seats and often reacting to demands from a curriculum that fails to account for these variations. Sensory Growth While most teachers are aware of the difficulties that the rate of physical growth produces for the middle- school child, they are not always aware of the effect of a similar growth in the sensory sphere. "During pre- puberty and puberty there seems to be an increase in the ability to distinguish finer shades of color and sound and an increased capacity to perceive stimuli from the ex- 19 It is not known whether these increases ternal world." result from an increased develOpment of the sensory organs ". . . or from the erotization of the avenues of sensory 20 It may be a combina- intake due to pubertal changes." tion of both factors. No matter what the exact cause, the child is flooded with changes in sensory acuteness. 19 20 English and Pearson, op. cit., p. 325. Ibid., p. 29 These changes in sensory perception appear to be one of the factors responsible for a disturbing condition that has been observed in middle-school children. One day the individual is bright and alert, interested and appreciative of the world, react— ing to it, feeling it, singing its praises. The next day he may be apathetic, disinterested, un- able to learn, often unable apparently to hear the simplest statement or see the most obvious detail. He appears feeble-minded.21 Neither the child, his parents, nor his teachers are able to understand why he is so moOdy or why he behaves so stupidly. The phenomenon has no relation to any environ- mental changes. It is part of the process of growth and will disappear as growth is attained. Analagously, somewhere around the seventh grade many children start to do poorly in school and this decline may last the better part of the school year. The next year they attain without trouble the degree of excellence that preceded the lapse. The effects of sensory growth, an aspect of growth not well covered in the literature, appear to be similar to those of physical growth. They injure the individual's pride for he and others see his actions as stupid and un— called for. They leave vanity diminished; and, this lowered self-esteem might well contribute to the fidgeti— ness, restlessness and moodiness of prepubertal children. There is very little that a teacher can do except provide ". . . much understanding patience, some explana— tions that these difficulties will pass on as the 21 22 Ibid., p. 326. Ibid. 30 individual grows older, and as much avoidance of criticism and reprimand as possible."23 If the teacher can merely be aware that the stu- dent's behavior is not a lack of respect for the teacher or learning or society, some progress can be made. The student who appears to temporarily loathe school and teachers could very well be reacting to anxiety and ten— sions, over which he has no control, that are related to the normal but devastating physiological changes that are occurring within his body. Sexual Maturation There are many obvious disagreements about the mean- ing, definitions, and effects of sexual maturation in middle-school children. Part of the disagreement and con- fusion is related to the meaning of adolescence. There is a tendency on the part of many writers to confuse adolescence with the biological maturation of sexual characteristics. "Although it is a fact that primary and secondary sexual characteristics mature during the adolescent period, merely because an individual has the capacity for biological reproduction . . . does not mean "2A that he has reached the adolescent stage A distinction must be made between puberty and adolescence. 23Ibid. 2L‘Hutt and Gibby, op. cit., p. 307. 31 Puberty simply refers to the ". . . maturation of the physical aspects of sexual organs . . . "25 Our concern with middle-school students will be with pppp their physical transformation and the resultant psychological changes, but the emphasis at this point is on the physi- cal aspects. Preadolescent sexual development appears to begin a few years prior to the onset of puberty. These changes usually occur in girls at either nine or ten, in normal cases. The study by Nathanson, Towne, and Aub26 indi— cates that young girls between the ages of nine and twelve show a marked increase in the production of estrogens, a female hormone. Prior to this age both boys and girls secreted these hormones. This is the beginning of a series of changes that transform the girl, physically and psychologically, into a woman. The presence of these hormones and the rate of the secretion appears to be a 27 significant factor. Sollenberger compared boys having a high male hormone output with those having a low one, 25Ibid. 261. Nathanson, L. Towne, and J. C. Aub, "Urinary Sex Hormone Studies," in Physique, Personality, and Scholar- ship, ed. by R. N. Sanford, a Monograph of Society for Research in Child Development, Vol. 8 (19A3), pp. 70-81. 27R. I. Sollenberger, "Some Relationships Between the Urinary Excretion of Male Hormones by Maturing Boys and Girls and Their Expressed Interests and Attitudes," {gurnal of Psychology, Vol. 9 (19AO), 179—189. 32 and found that the high group had more interest in hetero- sexual activities and strenuous sports. While boys do not have such a dramatic event as the menarche to mark the onset of their pubescence, there are several events or characteristics that can be observed: the production of pubic hair, ejaculation, and voice change. Kinsey28 in 19A8, found that 10 per cent of the boys in his study had formed pubic hair at age eleven and 90 per cent by age 1A. With regard to ejaculation, about 10 per cent had experienced this by age eleven and 82 per cent by age fourteen. Voice change had occurred in 3 per cent of the cases at age eleven and nearly 70 per cent of the cases by age fourteen. Although puberty does not necessarily precede ado- lescence, it does normally initiate this period. Jersild29 has summarized the ages at which boys and girls obtain puberty. His criterion for boys was the development of pubic hair. He found that 18 per cent of the boys have obtained puberty at thirteen years of age and A6 per cent at age fourteen. At age fifteen, seventy per cent have obtained puberty and 93 per cent by age 16. While Jersild found that the average American girl reaches menarche by 28A. C. Kinsey, W. B. Pomeroy, and C. E. Martin, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (Philadelphia: Saunders, 19A8), p. 130. 29A. T. Jersild, The Psychology of Adolescence (New York: The MacMillan Company, 1963), p. 12. 33 about the age of 12 1/2 years, his study also revealed that 3.2 per cent of ten-year-old girls reached menarche and 3.2 per cent as late as the age of fifteen. Sex Awareness, Feelings, and Desires and Education "Partly because of their more rapid sexual (and social) development, girls are much more sex-aware than "30 boys--though less outspoken about it. Girls observe their menarche and are very much aware of their own breast develOpment and it would hold true that girls are more sex aware—~but only at the preadolescent stage. "Boys frequently experience sexual arousal and tension which they urgently desire to discharge through orgasm."31 32 maintains that with regard to number of orgasms Kinsey of all kinds, adolescent boys greatly exceed adolescent girls. When sex feeling or arousal is taken into account the girls appear more responsive. By age 13, 3A per cent of girls have experienced sexual arousal.33 3OA. Gesell, F. L. Ilg, and L. B. Ames, The Years From Ten to Sixteen (New York: Harper and Row, 1956), p. A5. 31M. 8. Smart and R. C. Smart, CHILDREN,Develop- ment and Relationships (New York: MacMillian, 1967), p. A5A. 32A. C. Kinsey, W. B. Pomeroy, and C. E. Martin, Sexual Behavior_in the Human Female (Philadelphia: Saunders, 1953), pp. 67-68. 33Kinsey, Pomeroy, and Martin, op. cit., pp. 512- 5-13. - . 3A These data are given only to indicate that the average middle—school student has had strong sex feelings and desires, the boy more frequently and acutely than the girl. Given these feelings, they appear to be very interested in securing information about sex and babies. "Many seem to have forgotten the knowledge they received "3“ Many parents and teachers find at an earlier age. that children who have been given sex information when they were younger receive this information anew, in the middle school, and receive it with a shock. The child is now becoming an adult. He is in a new and confused state and he is very anxious about him— self. His body maturation, combined with the yearnings that are strange and compelling, together with the sex information that describes certain roles he must play, are factors that occasionally only offer the preadolescent confusion and despair. The young adolescent's dilemma, therefore, gives us some indication of the kind of sex education needed at this point: an education that does not leave him isolated in his own confusion, that does not uncover or probe into his helpless feelings or arouse feelings of incompetence. One of the most comprehensive surveys of child- rearing practices in the area of sex training or sex 3L1Gesell, Ilg, and Ames, op. cit., p. A5. 35M. Lawrence and F. K. Lawrence, Your Adolescent at Home and at School (New York: The Viking Press, 1956), p. 38. 35 36 education is provided by Sears, Maccoby, and Levin. These authors point out that parents generally attempt to give sex training by controlling the amount of infor- mation the child gets. That is, parents are fearful that their children will engage in sex activities and overtly try to reduce or limit the child's sexual be- havior.37 The difficulty and frustration of trying to educate and at the same time limit the information is very distrubing to teachers and parents. Effects of Maturation Is there a causal relationship between physical maturity of students and their behavior? A number of researchers have measured the physical characteristics of students and related them to student behavior. 38 a staff of trained observers In one study assessed a large group of adolescents on a number of personality variables, and boys who were consistently retarded in physical development were also rated lower than those who were consistently accelerated, in physi- cal attractiveness, grooming, and matter-of-factness; 36R. R. Sears, E. E. Maccoby, and H. Leving, Patterns of Child-Rearing (Evanston: Row Peterson, 1957). p. 181. 37Ibid., p. 182. 38M. C. Jones and N. Bayley, "Physical Maturing Among Boys as Related to Behavior," Journal of Educa- tional Psychology, Vol. A1 (1950), l21-1A8. 36 and higher in sociability, social initiative, and eager- ness. Jones39 investigated the long-term consequences of physical acceleration or retardation during adolescence and found that group differences in physique had prac— tically disappeared by the time early- and late-maturing subjects had reached their thirties. Jones concluded that the early-maturers presented a more-consistently favorable personality picture with regard to important social variables than did late—maturers. The association between physical growth and social development appears to be a strong bond indeed. A study by Stone and Barker“O reported that a greater proportion of postmenarcheal than premenarcheal girls of the same chronological age indi- cate a greater interest in personal adornment and day dreaming activities. The physical change appears to have an impact on social development. The frustration and confusion of growing up is often compounded by the attitudes of parents. While parents keep reminding the young adolescent that he is growing up and should be assuming more responsibility, they often stifle his attempts at independent behavior 39Mary C. Jones, "The Later Careers of Boys Who Were Early— or Late—Maturing," Child Development, Vol. 28 (March, 1957). 113—128. LlOC. P. Stone and R. G. Barker, "The Attitudes and Interests of Premenarcheal and Postmenarcheal Girls," Journal of Genteid Psychology, Vol. 5A (1939), 61-62. 37 by reminding him that they are his parents and he is too young to know what is best for him. The typical parent appears to have genuinely ambivalent feelings about the growing-up process. Parents want the child to grow up to happy adulthood, yet they are fearful that he cannot handle independence without their protective guidance. Although the attitude of parents is a significant factor influencing the social and emotional development of the early adolescent, the physical growth pattern itself is more significant. During the period of rapid "growth spurt" the child's physique actually becomes unfamiliar to him and he finds himself inhabiting a strange body. According to Josselynul The unfamiliarity with the body may explain the apparent discrepancy between the actual clinical tests of motor coordination and the casual ob- servation of the child in his day-by—day liv- ing. . . . Tests indicate that during the period of rapid physical growth there is also an in- crease in manual dexterity and muscle control. Since the young adolescent is usually described as awkward, the findings seem contrary to common observation. The answer to the riddle appears to be in the fact that the awkward adolescent only appears awkward because he has not learned to use his new body. If he is an accomplished swimmer he is not bothered by growth. Rather, he becomes a better swimmer. Adolescent girls ulJosselyn, Op. cit., p. 325. 38 can learn posture control quickly. The adolescent child must be taught to use this new body of his. Mussen and Jones,“2 in 1957, in a follow-up to the Jones and Bayley study of 1950, investigated the rela— tionship between rate of physical maturation and important aspects of personality structure. An analysis of the data from that study indicated that late-maturing boys are more likely to have negative self-conceptions, feel— ings of inadequacy, prolonged dependency needs, and rebellious attitude toware parents. The early-maturing boys presented a much more favorable picture during adolescence. Relatively few of them felt inadequate, rejected, dominated or rebellious toward their families.Ll3 All of these findings clearly indicate that the rate of physical maturing may affect personality develOpment in important ways. "However, it is important to note that in any particular case the effects . . . may be signifi- cantly modified by the individual's psychological history - AA and present circumstances." “2V. H. Mussen and M. C. Jones, "Self—Conceptions, Motivations, and Interpersonal Attitudes of Late-Maturing and Early-Maturing Boys," Child Development, Vol. 28, No. 2 (1957), 2A3-265. “31bid. qubid., p. 256. 39 Physical Growth and Identity Jersildl45 takes the position that the most important task for child psychology and for education is to find out how the educational program might help the growing person to understand and accept himself. According to Ambrose and Mielu6 As the growing child moves into puberty and adolescence, he is confronted with the task of establishing an identity, of determining just who he is and what he is and his place in society is. He also has to learn to accept and live with a changing body. All these concerns cause some children a great deal of anxiety and uncertainty. Young adolescents in our country seem to seek their assurance through being solidly "in" with a peer group. Smart and Smart”7 refer to the same problem: Pubescence, the period surrounding the peak of velocity in physical growth, is only the begin— ning of a long critical period in personality growth. Here the problem is posed, "Who am I?" All of adolescence involves finding the answer . . The sense of identity is built throughout life, but it too has a special time of growth. The personality with which the child begins pubescence is the product of all his part inter- actions with the world. Physical and psychological growth have been shown to be related in many studies. In addition to the Jones' studies of early— and late—maturers, another study“8 u5Jersild, In Search of Self, op. cit., p. 3. I46E. Ambrose and A. Miel, Children's Social Learn- ing (Washington: ASCD-NEA, 1958): p. 21. u7Smart and Smart, op. cit., p. A37. “8Ibid., p. A70. A0 yielded a picture of early-maturers as self-confident, independent and socially capable while late-maturers often had negative concepts of themselves, feelings of inadequacy, rejection and dependency, and felt rebel- lious toward their parents. This same study, in consider— ing the question of effects of the timing of maturity on girls' personalities, found results similar to the Jones “9 on boys. "Early-maturing 17—year-old girls had study more favorable concepts than did late-maturing girls, even though they must have been bigger than their class— mates during adolescence."50 A different approach was from the vieWpoint of peers.51 Girls in grades six through nine were tested to determine the effect of physical maturity on prestige. The sixth-grade girls received high prestige ratings more frequently when they were in the same developmental phase as their classmates; that is, they had not reached menarche. However, in grades seven through nine, physi— cal acceleration was an advantage in receiving prestige ratings. ugJones, op. cit., p. 50Smart and Smart, op. cit., p. A70. 51M. S. Faust, "Developmental Maturity as a Detri- ment in Prestige of Adolescent Girls," Child Development, Vol. 31 (1960), 182—183. A1 Educational Implications The middle school, ". . . as a psychologist might view it, has paradoxical distinctions: First, its clien- tele is composed of so bewildering an assortment of young peOple at crucial turning point in their lives as to defy . . 2 descriptions."5 In the second place, schools of educa— tion and public school systems are at fault since ". there is a tendency to make believe that there is no such institution: schools are either considered ele— mentary or secondary . . "53 It is abundantly clear that, at least physically, students are entering the early phases of adulthood at earlier ages. The onset of pubescence creates many internal and external pressures on students over which they have little control. These pressures create emo- tional and social anxiety and tensions in students that are reflected in their responses to the curriculum in a variety of ways. These results are often intensified by changing cultural expectations which will be examined in a later chapter. The students at these age levels, ten— to fourteen- year-old, are being buffeted by internal and external forces. They are changing physically and they are facing 52W. W. Wattenberg, "The Junior High School—~A Psychologist's View," The Bulletin of N.S.S.P., Vol. A9: 300 (April, 1965), 3A. 53Ibid. A2 societal pressures that are confusing and frustrating. School programs should be formulated with the goals of enabling the physically emerging boy and girl to better understand and accommodate to their growth changes. Intellectual Growth Research on the intellectual develOpment of the child highlights the fact that at each stage of development the child has a characteristic way of viewing the world and explaining it to him- self.5lI Bruner's statement is influenced by the research of H Piaget and others who suggest that . . . roughly speak- ing, one may distinguish three stages in the intellectual development of the child."55 Piaget's first stage ends around the fifth or sixth year. His second stage of development, called the stage of concrete operations, usually extends through the upper elementary years. The third stage of intellectual development is the formal operations stage and it usually comes into existence during the middle—school years.56 It would be possible and profitable to concentrate on the general characteristics of the intellectual develop- rnent of middle—school students, as identified by Piaget; Ilowever to do so without considering the impact of ¥ 5“J. S. Bruner, The Process of Education (New York: Random House, 1960), p. 33. 55Ibid., p. 3A. 56Ibid., pp. 3A-5A. 43 group influence on the intellectual growth would be short—sighted. It is the place of groups in which . . . the person becomes an individual by virtue of his memberships, where, in fact, we learn from others-not from ourselves-that we are worthy and valued and permitted to make choices in keeping with our deepest personal needs and desires.57 In this section the writer intends first to focus on the general characteristics of intellectual develop- ment, second to concentrate on Piaget's stage of develop- ment identified as formal Operations, and finally, to examine the impact of certain group influences on intellectual growth. "Psychological growth is just as dramatic as physi- n58 cal growth at the beginning of adolescence. Because of this dramatic change between the ages of 12 and 1A years, the adolescent is as different from the school- age child (refers to elementary child) as the school- age child is different from the preschool child.59 If the middle—school Child is unique in intellectual development as compared to younger and/or older children, a school program should be designed which will accommodate the type of intellectual operations associated with the 57Simpson, op. cit., p. 322. 58Smart and Smart, op. cit., p. A75. 59Ibid. AA age range. This section will explore the range of these intellectual operations within age—levels. General Characteristics The intelligence age-curve.—-Longitudinal studies by Bayley6O have yielded results which are somewhat at odds with the generally accepted form of the age-curve intelligence and these results bear discussion. According to Bayley, older studies which showed the curve of intelligence increasing until the early twenties followed by a slow decline throughout the adult years have been refuted by new studies which show that ". . . at least some intellectual abilities may continue to in- "6]- crease slowly to 50 years of age or older. Bayley's theories on the nature of intellectual development are based on the assumption ". . . that the human organism . . undergoes continual processes of change throughout its life span. These changes are more rapid at some "62 periods of life than at others While everyone agrees that intelligence grows throughout infancy and childhood, Bayley's studies indicate, with support from 63 other studies, that the intelligence age-curve shows 6ON. Bayley, "Mental Growth and Development," in The Adolescent, ed. by J. Seidman (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1960), pp. l8A—l88. 6lIbid., p. 185. 62Ibid. 63Ibid., p. 187. AS acceleration during the middle-school years. It is interesting to note that the intelligence age—curve acceleration is not directly related to the adolescent spurt of physical growth in either boys or girls. Bayley's general conclusion regarding causes points to general environment. It seems rather obvious that the general environ— ment in which children are now growing up is richer: there is more knowledge available and better communication of it; travel is easier, and more children can, with less trouble, have varied experiences. Possibly also our knowledge of child training and mental hygiene are in- 6A fluencing parental practices in a healthful way. Equality of intellectual capacity.——Environment influences but nature is basically to blame for the disparity of intellectual capacity among the children in our schools; this is an assumption on which most American educational programs are based. Working from this assumption the schools attempt to build programs that can develOp individual capacities. Ability group- ing, tracking or streaming, and various other practices are used by schools to accommodate the natural superior- ity or inferiority of individuals and groups. This basic assumption of inequality is questioned by Boyer and Walsh as they contend that "Studies of innate intelligence, then, have not produced conclusive evidence to justify the claim for an innate difference in individual 6“Ibid., p. 198. A6 intellectual capacity."65 While they grant that there is no evidence that all children are born equally endowed, they do propose that teaching strategies should be based ". . on the most generous and promising assumptions about human nature rather than the most niggardly and pessimis- "66 tic To be successful, teachers must assume children can learn anything. Guilford67 takes a related vieWpoint when he con- tends that the best position for educators to take is that possibly every intellectual factor in almost all people can be develOped at least to some extent of learn- ing. Guilford also makes a plea for school programs that give more attention to the divergent-thinking categories of abilities in all children. It is in these categories "that the more conspicuously creative abilities appear to 68 be concentrated." 69 feels that teachers should View students as Redl interacting individuals and never look at groups as entities. His opposition is to the current tendencies to 65W. H. Boyer and P. Walsh, "Are Children Born Un- equal?" Saturdangeview, October 19, 1968, p. 63. 66 Ibid., p. 78. 67J. P. Guilford, "Three Faces of Intellect," in The Adolescent, ed. by J. Seidman (New York: Holt, Rine— hart and Winston, 1960), pp. 198-217. ' 68 Ibid., p. 216. 69F. Redl, When We Deal With Children (New York: The Free Press, 1967), pp. A67-A68. A7 gather children together according to some accidental factor of convenience, be it chronological age or IQ. He feels that the effectuality of any group will be a function of the kind of thinking and the degree of sensitivity which go into its formation. Redl would not be concerned with the intellectual inequalities of the students, only the inequality of the supportive life experiences (as in the slums) the student brings to school and the lack of supportive experiences the child had in school. Education has a new crop of critics and ". . . their common defense of children and adolescents and their fundamental attacks on established practices has given them a place apart from the conventional critics."7O These critics—~Friedenberg, Goodman, Holt, and others-- share with Dewey a faith in the healthy capabilities of children. They are concerned more with the develOpmental processes than with the formalities of education. Their enemies, and the enemies of children, as they see it, are society and the educational system. They view school as a place where children are taught that they can't learn and are encouraged to act stupidly. It is their common view that children aren't born stupid but are so alienated from life by school and so exploited that their natural _ 70F. Schrag, "Education's Romantic Critics," Saturday Review, February 18, 1968, p. 80. A8 instincts of curiosity and self-realization are des- troyed.71 Holt72 is very explicit when he criticizes the schools by saying: NObody starts out stupid. You have only to watch babies and infants, and think seriously about what all of them learn and do, to see that, ex- cept for the most grossly retarded, they show a style of life, and a desire and ability to learn that in an older person we might well call genius. Hardly an adult in a thousand, or ten thousand, could in any three years of his life, grow as much in his understanding of the world around him, as every infant learns and grows in his first three years. Less concern about the inequalities of mental endow- ment and more concern about providing life and school experiences that recapture that "desire and ability to learn" that is evidenced in the three-year—old, would be desirable on the part of all educators. Intellectual characteristics of 10- to lA-year- olds.--According to Bruner73 a list describing intellectual growth should include the following aspects: 1. Growth is characterized by increasing inde- pendence of response from the immediate nature of the stimulus. 2. Growth depends upon internalizing events into a storage system that corresponds to the environment. 71Ibid., pp. 80-82, 98—99. 72J. Holt, How Children Fail (New York: Pitman Publishing 00., 196A), p. 167. 73Bruner, Toward a Theory of Instruction, pp. 5-6. A9 3. Intellectual growth involves an increasing capacity to say to oneself and others, by means of words or symbols, what one has done or will do. A. Intellectual development depends upon a systematic and contingent interaction between a tutor and a learner. 5. Teaching is vastly facilitated by the medium of language, which ends by being not only the medium for exchange, but the instrument the learner can use himself in bringing order into the environment. 6. Intellectual development is marked by in- creasing capacity to deal with several alterna- tives simultaneously. It is obvious that Bruner's "aspects of intellectual growth" have significant implications for the education of middle—school students. Since Bruner's work is based in part on the develOpmental studies of Jean Piaget, it is appropriate that Piaget's description of the student as he passes through the various developmental stages be examined, with special emphasis on the later stages. 50 The Influence of Piaget Piaget's characteristics of thinking7u.-—At the end of infancy the child has completed two major feats, the control of his movements in space and the idea of object constancy. The child is able to realize that an object still exists even though he can no longer see it. His sensorimotor intelligence has begun to link successive perceptions and movements with brief anticipations and memories. ". . . Sensorimotor intelligence acts like a slow-motion film, in which all pictures are seen in succession but without fusion, and so without the con- tinuous vision necessary for understanding the whole."75 At the end of this period to about the age of seven thinking takes on certain characteristics which are more sophisticated than what has gone before. During this preschool period (in Piaget's term, the stage of pre— operational thought) the child becomes less egocentric, as his thought processes become more flexible, more con- trolled and less dominated by his perceptions and his wishes. However, in general, the preoperational child is involved primarily with his own goals. He finds it very difficult to consider how any situation looks to another person. "What is principally lacking at this stage of 7hJ. Piaget, The Psychology of Intelligence (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1950), p. 119. 75Ibid., pp. 120~l21. 51 development is what the Geneva school has called the con- cept of reversibility."76 This deficiency prevents the preoperational child from grasping the idea that objects, once changed in shape, can be returned to the original state. This lack of understanding inhibits the child's understanding of certain mathematical ideas. "It goes without saying that teachers are Severely.limited in transmitting concepts to a child at this stage, even in a highly intuitive manner."77 Piaget refers to the stage of cognition which lasts from about 7 to 11 as the period of concrete operations. The central problem of the school age [ages 7 to 11], the development of the sense of industry, requires the child to solve intellectual prob- lems and to develOp intellectual skills, along with the motor coordinations and social skills which also contribute to his adequacy.7 The outstanding intellectual developments during this period are the increased freedom and control in thinking and the increased understanding of the relationship of symbols to events or situations.79 Children in the concrete operations' stage develOp the ability to classify objects by reflecting upon the various qualities of the objects. The ability varies with 76Bruner, The Process of Education, pp. 3A-35. 77Ibid., p. 35. 78Smart and Smart, op. cit., p. 3A3. 79Piaget, op. cit., p. 139. 52 age changes. Younger children use personal experience and perception more and abstract ideas less than older children. Classifying on the basis of color drops sharply between kindergarten and first grade and remains fairly constant after second grade. Situation as a basis for classifying, represents personal experience, and shows a steady decline after grade four. "Classification in terms of an abstract occurs seldom in the kindergarten and frequently in the higher grades."8O As the child approabhes the upper limits of con— crete operations stage he develops cognitive ability to 81 a high degree. Bruner summarizes the stage of concrete Operations when he says that: Concrete Operations, though they are guided by the logic of classes and the logic of rela- tions, are means for structuring only immediately present reality. The child is able to give structure to the things he encounters, but he is not yet readily able to deal with possibili- ties not directly before him or not already ex- perienced. This is not to say that children operating concretely are not able to anticipate things that are not present. Rather, it is to say that they do not command the operations for conjuring up systematically the full range of alternative possibilities that could exist at any given time. They cannot go systematically beyond the information given them to a descrip- tion of what else might occur. 80 81Bruner, The Process of Education (New York: Random House, 1960):’p. 37. Smart and Smart, Op. cit., p. 3A7. 53 According to Piaget, the third and final stage is that of formal operations. This follows concrete Opera- tions and normally comes into existence during the middle-school years. Bruner82 describes formal Opera- tions as follows: Now the child's intellectual activity seems based upon an ability to operate on hypo— thetical propositions rather than being con— strained to what he has experienced or what is before him. The child can now think of variables and even deduce potential rela- tionships that can later be verified by experiment or observation. Intellectual operations now appear to be predicated upon the same kinds of logical Operations that are the stock in trade of the logician, the scientist, or the abstract thinker. ' By contrast with the child in the stage of concrete operations, the early adolescent can make use of more information, withholding his final conclusions while evaluating new information. The middle—school child can think without using concrete objects or events. He con- structs and uses systems of thought by which he searches for the greatest possible number of relationships and combinations of ideas. Since formal reasoning means accepting the conditions given and abiding by the con- ditions while solving the problem, the early adolescent discovers that formal thought requires an unusually high standard of control. 82Ibid. 5A These methods of reasoning most assuredly have implications for curriculum develOpment. Conceptually— based, inquiry-oriented social science programs find theoretical support in Piaget's work. Science programs for 10- to lA-year-olds which provide opportunities for students to manipulate laboratory equipment, to accumu- late information and derive conclusions from the data are combinations of experiences that accommodate the middle-school student's varying stages of intellectual development. Individuality in formal thought.--"Individua1s vary 83 I! in the way they think formally. Individuals may achieve abstract concepts in one area and not in another. It is apparent that logical thinking depends upon the individual's Opportunities for developing the ability and not upon some inherent capacity to think in this way. Even though a child can think logically, there is no assurance that he will do so. Piaget's ideas on roles can be used to explain this phenomenon. An adolescent's interest and effort toward developing abstract concepts probably depends upon how much the adolescent feels he needs these ways of thinking. "The college-bound youngster, especially if he is headed for science and mathematics, will probably seek and find more abstract 83Smart and Smart, op. cit., p. A93. 55 concepts than the one who plans to tend store or keep house."8u Frank and Frank85 contend that students of middle- school age should be provided with a "thinking-readiness" program, much as kindergarteners are provided a reading— readiness program. "This program aims at giving boys and girls competence in finding and trusting their capacity to think and to feel that their thinking is important . . . "86 They feel that it is vital that this experience come at a time (early adolescence) when they are becoming capable of formulating concepts and using 87 speaks to the same question when abstractions. Bruner he says that extrinsic problem—solving interferes with intrinsic problem-solving. He contends that children spend far too much time figuring out what the teacher wants rather than solving genuine problems. Bruner feels that teachers must stimulate problem solving ". . . by providing . . . children with materials and lessons that permit legitimate problem solving and permit the teacher to recognize it."88 8“Ibid., p. A80. 85M. Frank and L. Frank, Your Adolescent at Home and in School (New York: The Viking Press, 1956), pp- 257-253. 86 87 88Ibid. Ibid. Bruner, Toward a Theory of Instruction, p. 158. 56 Educators should not blind themselves to the fact that there are vast differences between and within individuals. Coleman has noted marked differences be- tween suburban and rural youth,89 and the different rates at which boys and girls mature was described in an earlier chapter of this paper. Since an individual grows according to his own timetable, which varies from month to month and is not even the same for all aspects of his development, a teacher quite literally faces a different group of children each time he meets a class. The teacher who fails to account for the student's individuality as he plans his teaching approaches is greatly increasing his chances of frustration and failure. Grogps Effects The factors that influence growth are to a very large extent genetically determined, whereas the factors that influence learning are chiefly determined by events in the individuals living environment. . . . Experience,we are told, is the great teacher. This means that the events the developing individual lives through-~in his home, in his geographical environment, in school, and in his various social environments—- will determine what he learns and therefore to a large extent what kind of person he becomes.90 89J. S. Coleman, "Social Change: Impact on the Adolescent," Bulletin of the NASSP, Vol. 3 (October, 1966), 8. 90R. M. Gagné, The Conditions of Learning (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1965), pp. A-5. 57 If we can accept the premise that the situations in which develOping children are placed are going to have great effects on them, we must examine very carefully the conditions of learning that surround the many groups we form for instructional purposes in our schools. While our concern for individuals may be paramount, we must acknowledge that the group influence on the individual is supreme. In this review of the literature regarding group effects, there are two aspects of grouping which will be explored: the effects of homogeneous, or ability group- ing, and the effects of racial isolation. Abilipy grouping.—- The results of ability grouping seem to depend less upon the fact of grouping itself than upon the philOSOphy behind the grouping, the accuracy with which grouping is made for the purposes intended, the differentiates in content, method, adn speed, and the technique of the teacher, as well as upon more general environmental in— fluences. Experimental studies have in general been too piecemeal to afford a true evaluation of results.9 Seagoe also pointed out that the experimental literature had yielded no conclusions regarding ability grouping that were universally accepted. She did, how— ever, point up certain principles. A child should be a member of a group possessing sociological characteristics, 91M. V. Seagoe, A Teacher's Guide to the Learning Process (Dubuque: William C. Brown Co., 1956), p. 30A. 58 i.e., a functioning and interacting group. In such a group pupils make greater gains in traditional subject matter.92 Published research between 1936 and the present time, while generally inconclusive, certainly does not give solid support to the advocates of ability grouping. Breidenstine93 found children in ability groups and un- differentiated groups in grades two to nine made similar gains in academic achievement. Hartillgl4 reported that ability grouping produced no systematic superiority in basic skills. In the field of attitudes toward classroom group- ing, the evidence is confused. Shannon95 found that children grouped according to ability showed a greater degree of attention than those in undifferentiated groups, though the factor of teaching quality was not controlled. The Luchins96 interviewed children in one 92Ibid., pp. 305-315. 93A. G. Breidenstine, "The Education of Pupils in Differentiated and Undifferentiated Groups," Journal of Experimental Education, Vol. 5 (September, 1936), 91-135. 91IR. M. Hartill, "Homogeneous Grouping as a Policy in the Elementary Schools of New York City," Contribu- tions to Education #690, Teachers College, Columbia, 1937. 95J. R. Shannon, "Homogeneous Grouping and Pupil Attention in Junior High Schools," Teachers College Journal, Vol. 12 (l9Al), A9-57. 96A. S. Luchins and E. H. Luchins, "Children's Attitudes Toward Homogeneous Grouping," Pedagogical Seminary, Vol, 72 (l9A8), 13-19. 59 community and found that they were quite status-oriented toward ability grouping, preferring to be in higher groups, perhaps reflecting a school atmosphere of aca- demic competitiveness. Another type of research is concerned with grouping within the classroom. Hoover97 found gains in biology achievement from differentiating groups within the class on the basis of previous grades, reading achievement, and intelligence. Barbe and Waterhouse98 found a similar result in English. In neither case was there adequate control, however. The Borg99 field study, a very extensive project supported by the Cooperative Research Program of the Office of Education, U. S. Department of Health, Educa- tion and Welfare, investigated, in part, the effect of ability grouping on slow, average, and superior junior high students. The investigator reported that ability grouping was slightly more advantageous for superior pupils, offered no advantage to average pupils and was inferior to heterogeneous grouping for slow pupils. This 97K. Hoover, "An Experiment on Grouping Within the Classroom," School Review, Vol. A8 (May, 19AO), 355-362. 98W. B. Barbe and T. S. Waterhouse, "An Experi- mental Program in Reading," Elementary English, Vol. 33 (1956), 102—10A. 99W. B. Borg, "Ability Grouping in the Public Schools" (Madison, Wisconsin: Demlar Education Research Services, Inc., 1966), p. 92. 60 study is quite illustrative of most of the research on ability grouping. It demonstrates very clearly that students, who themselves are not particularly motivated to learn, get no motivation by being placed with other non-motivated students. Conversely it demonstrates that highly-motivated students have a positive effect on others in their group. If schools are concerned with inspiring students to improve their achievement, then the schools must have positive expectations regarding the students' ability to achieve. The influence of teachers' expectations on student's achievement was clearly demonstrated by the Rosenthal100 study. If we can assume that IQ scores are indications of png students have learned, teachers' expectations are an important factor in producing learn— ing. Placing students in "slow" classes, surrounded by other students similarly labeled, appears to be a sure way of producing inferior achievement. Racial isolation.--The 195A Supreme Court decision maintained that "separate but equal" schools for Negro and white children were inherently unequal and contrary to the basic purpose of education. It said that: Today, education is perhaps the most important function of state and local governments. . . . It is the very foundation of good citizenship. 100R. Rosenthal and L. Jacobson, "Teachers' Expect- ancies: Determinants of Pupils I.Q. Gains," Psychological Reports, Vol. 19 (1966), 115-118. 61 Today it is the principal instrument in awaken- ing the child to cultural values, in preparing him for later professional training, and in helping him to adjust normally to his environ- ment.1 1 By calling upon the schools to assist in the assimilation of Negro children into contemporary society, the Supreme Court took a direct stand in opposition to school grouping plans that segregated students on the basis of race, and took an indirect stand in Opposition to "geographical" segregation which is in many cases identical to racial segregation. Despite the decade and a half since 195A, when segregation was outlawed, we are far from the ideal of total integration. In fact, our schools are growing more racially segregated, not less. There are more segregated schools in the United States today [1968] than there were in 198A at the time of the Supreme Court decision. 2 The ability of the Negro student: Equality of intellectual capacity was discussed in an earlier section of this chapter and at this time an effort will be made to illustrate the effects of racial isolation upon-—not the capacity—-the scholastic achievement of students. 101Brown vs. Board of Education, 3A7 U.S. A83 (195A), as quoted by Kenneth B. Clark,"Educationa1 Stimulation of Racially Disadvantaged Children," in Education in De- pressed Areas, ed. by A. H. Passow (New York: Teachers College, Columbia University, 1963), p. 1A2. 102T. Pettigrew, "The Case for School Integration," in Decentralization and Racial Integration, ed. by Carroll F. Johnson and Michael D. Usdan (New York: Teachers College, Columbia, 1968), p. 83. 62 There have been many studies which strongly suggest that there are no biologically determined differences in the innate ability of Negroes and whites. A study by 103 a relatively recent study, supports this Pettigrew, contention. At the same time, any number of studies have reported that Negro students show consistently lower scores as a group than do whites on standardized ability and achievement examinations. An example is the study made by Educational Testing Service for the Atlanta, Georgia, city schools in 1955 and 1956. It showed that in reading Negro students on the average ranged from one grade level behind white students at the third grade to four grades behind at the twelfth grade. In general achievement, A0 to 60 per cent of the white pupils at all grade levels were at the 50th percentile in the national sample, but only two to ten per cent of Negro pupils were at this percentile. This study notes that such condi- tions are not unique to Atlanta schools.lou Since studies of racial differences have failed to demonstrate any inherent deficiency in the learning 103T. F. Pettigrew, Social—Psychological Considera- tions of Racially Balanced Schools, A Report of the Advisory Committee on Racial Imbalance and Education (Bgston, Mass.: St. Bd. of Educ., April, 1965), pp. 87- 10 . 10“Learningand Teaching in Atlanta Public Schools (Princeton, N.J.: Educational Testing Service, 1956), p. 27. 63 potential of any group, observed differences in achieve— ment must be the result of other factors.105 Factors creating achievement differences: In its recent study106 the U. S. Commission on Civil Rights found that Negro students are more likely to be in overcrowded schools than white students. A report pre- pared by the Office of Education, Coleman et al.,107 shows that Negro students are less likely to attend schools which offer advanced courses in subjects such as science and language and which have science laboratories. The Coleman Report also shows108 that the average Negro pupil has fewer classmates whose mothers graduated from high school; his classmates more frequently are members of large rather than small families; they are less often enrolled in college preparatory curricula; and they have more often the other characteristics of low income families, such as no father in the home. The Coleman Report concludes: Finally, it appears that a pupil's achievement is strongly related to the educational 105G. Grambs, "A Guide to School Integration," Public Affairs Pamphlet No. 255. 106U. S. Commission on Civil Rights, Racial Isola- tion in the Public Schools, U. S. Government Printing Office, 1967, p. 92. 107Coleman, et al., Equality of Educational Oppor- tunity, U. S. Office of Education Survey, Government Printing Office, 1966, p. 73. 108 Ibid., pp. 18—20. 6A backgrounds and aspirations of the other stu— dents in the school. . . . Analysis indicates . . . that children from a given family back- ground, when put into schools of different social composition will achieve at quite different levels.16 John H. Fischer, President of Teachers College at Columbia University, has written: [A] school enrolling largely Negro students is almost universally considered of lower status and less desirable than one attended wholly or mainly by white students. Regardless of the quality of the building, the competence of the staff, or the size of the classes, a school composed of three-fourths Negro children and one-fourth white children is viewed by members of both races . . . as inferior to one in which the proportions are reversed. The effects of large-scale desegregation and integra- tion upon the academic achievement of both Negro and white students are as yet undetermined. This is so be- cause we have had very little desegregation. One study111 indicated an improvement in instructional programs after desegregation. Another concluded that desegregation had led to significant increases in Negro achievement and has not adversely affected the achievement of white stu— 112 dents. More than token desegregation is going to be necessary before the full effects will be known. 109Ibid., p. 22. 110J. H. Fischer, "Race and Reconciliation: The Role of the School," Daedalus, Vol. 26 (Winter, 1966), 95. 111H. Wey, "Desegregation, It Works," Phi Delta Kappan, Vol. 25, No. 9 (May, 196A), 382—387. 112M. Weinberg, Research on School Desegregation (Chicago: Integrated Education Associate, 1965), p. 62. 65 Educational Implications It is apparent from the work of Piaget and his colleagues that intellectual ". . . development occurs in a constantly expanding sequence with present intellectual development being dependent upon previous development."113 If this conclusion is accepted, educators should be pre- pared to provide learning experiences which help the Child pass progressively from concrete thinking to the utilization of more conceptually adequate modes of thought. For middle school students it may well be true that the concepts which can be taught do not follow a traditional subject matter format. This calls for a careful analysis of content areas in an effort to dis- cern the concepts which are involved. None of the emphasis on sequential intellectual development obviates the need to be concerned about the composition of the groups which are formed for instruc- tional purposes. School organizations which call for some form of homogeneous grouping on the basis of academic attainment have no justification on a social or educational basis. School groupings which ignore the deleterious effects of racial isolation cannot be con- doned. If significantly large segments of our schools' 113D. H. Eichhorn, The,Middle School (New York: Center for Applied Research in Education, Inc., 1966), p. 38. 66 population are being handicapped by racial imbalances, the removal of this barrier should have high priority. Cultural Factors \ Effective schooling for any age or grade level must take into account the learner and how he learns, the contemporary social and cultural milieu, and the way man organizes and adds to the knOfiledge he has accumulated through the ages.11 The earlier sections present a picture of the young people of today who are reaching physical, social, and intellectual maturity at a younger chronological age than children of earlier generations. That both boys and girls achieve puberty at an earlier age is a biological fact that can be verified. The question is whether the earlier social and intellectual maturation is a direct function of 115 presents a this physiological acceleration. Bauer rather convincing argument of adolescence being a culturally-induced phenomenon in Western societies. Eichhorn116 supports this view when he says: 11“G. F. Vars, "New Knowledge of the Learner and His Cultural Milieu: Implications for Schooling in the Middle Years," Paper presented at the 11th Annual Fall Conference of the College of Education, University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio, November 11, 1967, p. 1. 115F. C. Bauer, "Fact and Folklore About Adoles- cents," Bulletin of the National Association of Secondary §phool Principals, Vol. A9, No. 299 (March, 1965), 17A. 1160. H. Eichhorn, "New Knowledge of 10 Through 13 Year-Olds," Paper presented at the Conference on "The Middle School Idea," Nov. 11, 1967, at the College of Education, University of Toledo, p. l. 67 Due to cultural factors physical maturation is occurring in individuals at an earlier chrono- logical age than formerly; this trend is accompanied by similar trends in social interests. It is characteristic of American education to develop organizational patterns commensurate with the nature of its students; the current status of human growth and develop- ment suggests there is a definite need for re- examining the transitional school organization in light of changing physical and social traits of students. No matter the cause, young people today are larger and physically more mature than in past generations. Perhaps because of their size and physical maturity they are expected to have the social and intellectual interests of older persons. When young people in response to these expecta- tions do behave in a more sophisticated manner, our self—fulfilling prophecy is indeed fulfilled. Whatever the cause, it does appear that precocity is a characteristic of many transescents [term used by Eichhorn to denote age between childhood and adolescence] today, a fact that must be con- sidered in designing a curriculum for this age group. In this section some major social institutions will be examined in an effort to determine their influence on American education. The Family in An Agrarian Society In the early days of our country ". . . the family occupied a central place in social structure and con- trolled most of the educational, religious and economic 117Vars, op. cit., p. 2. 68 "118 The father was considered functions in the community. the head of the household by all its members. As husband and father he made all the important decisions. As is traditional in most of the world's cultures, the father was the boss. Children have always been important to families. "Traditionally, societies have depended upon reproducing their orderly forms of family life by rearing children within families, who will regard that form of family life within which they were reared as normal, natural, and "119 Children were also considered assets to desirable. the labor supply of an agrarian family and ". . . families were, therefore, unwilling to give them up to public edu- cation when the latter increased its demands in mid- 120 The twelve—child families of the nineteenth century." last century are rare today. "The birth rate in the West- ern world began falling about a century ago, reached its 118K. Yamamoto, "America in Which Children of the Middle Years Will Live: An Education Perspective," A paper presented at the 1967 fall conference on "The Middle School Idea" at the College of Education, Uni- versity of Toledo, Ohio, November 11, 1967, p. 15. 119M. Mead, "The Contemporary American Family As An Anthropologist Sees It," in The Adolescent, ed. by J. M. Seidman (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1960), p. 36A. 120Yamamoto, op. cit., p. 16. 69 low point during the Great Depression of the 1930's and has risen somewhat from that figure."121 As our illiterate agrarian society was transformed into a literate industrialized society, children became an expensive burden rather than an economic asset. The role of the woman in the family has changed drastically during the past century. A hundred years ago the husband was dominant. Law and custom gave the hus- band legal control over a wife's property, earnings, and even her body. The woman stayed at home, bore children, raised them, kept the house in order, and provided a large part of the formal and informal education of the family's offspring. The present American family.--"The present American 122 family is in the midst of sweeping changes." The family is smaller than a century ago, male authority has declined, and it is not uncommon for both husband and wife to be gainfully employed outside the home. Despite fears to the contrary, there seems to be no real evidence that the working mother damages her children by taking a job outside the home. The report of one very careful study, which matched 500 delinquents with 500 nondelinquents, who were all paired for social class, age, ethnic-racial derivation, and intelligence, indicated no 121P. B. Horton and C. L. Hunt, Sociology (New York: IWcGraw-Hill, 196A), p. 2A8. 122Ibid., p. 257. 70 difference between the delinquency rates of the children of working and nonworking mothers.123 In our modern families, children have attained importance as agents of family prestige and rnobility.1214 They have assumed a central position in the family and the term "child-centered home" is a reality in many ways. American parents seem to have become increasingly more permissive, psychology-conscious, and judged as success- ful or unsuccessful parents on the basis of their children's performance.125 However, being a child today is not easy. The child of today is under considerable stress, being re— quired to serve many masters at one and the same time.126 The child of today has to both get along with others and try to get ahead of others. He is supposed to help com— pensate for all the frustration, anxiety, and humiliation which his father suffers at work and which his mother ex- periences in her confusion of roles as an American female.127 123Ibid., p. 253. 12LlR. C. Corwin, A Sociology of Education (New York: Appleton-Century Crofts, 1965), p. 7A. 1253. T. Kimball, "Cultural Influences Shaping the Role of the Child," National Elementary Principal, Vol. A0 (September, 1960), 28-32. 126K. Yamamoto, "Children Under Pressure," a paper read at the 22nd annual conference of the ASCD, Dallas, Texas, March, 1967. 127Yamamoto, "America in Which Children of the Middle Years Will Live," p. 16. 71 Children have other problems with their parents. "Some of their conflicts are intensified by the emotional concentration of the nuclear family, rapid social Changes and the impact of the mass media and easy travel."128 Many children have trouble communicating with their parents. They find certain topics, such as sex, mis- 129 behavior, and school failure hard to discuss. In a time when parents and their children have highly developed their abilities to verbalize, we see whole families dis— organized and torn by hostility because of the lack of communication. Everyone in the family is talking but no one is listening. The agency charged with the responsibility of re- solving these social issues is the school. "The design of a school program . . . represents some conception of the goals that ought to be pursued by individuals and by 130 society as a whole." The school is seen as an insti- tution in which the young are prepared for the radical transition from the private world of home and family to the public world. During this transition the school is charged with the responsibility of taking children who come from extremely diverse family backgrounds and g 128Smart and Smart, op. cit., p. 510. 129Ibid. 1303. T. Kimball and J. E. McClellan, Education the New America (New York: Random House, 1962), 239. ¥ and p . 72 molding them into first a common school organization and then into all the other social organizations. Religion During the earliest days of modern America the Puritans established their domination over all of society, including education, and the schools taught God's words as interpreted by the sect. Politics, education and religion were permeated by Puritan values.l3l This didn't last long. "The first amendment to the Constitution . . . sought to preserve the right of the people to choose between alternative religious views."132 In the recent decades there has been a peculiar separation between religion and religiosity. Records indicate that two-thirds of Americans are registered members of some church while only one in six was so registered in 1850.133 These figures suggest that reli- gion is institutionally as strong as ever. This con- trasts sharply with the Supreme Court's ruling on public 131M. L. Borrowman, "Traditional Values and the Shaping of American Education," in Social Forces Influenc- ing American Education, 60th Yearbook of the NSSE, pp. 1, 11, ed. by Nelson B. Henry (Chicago: U. of Chicago Press, 1961), pp. 1AA-170. 132W. Madden, "Education for Religious Quality in Experience," in Intellectual Foundations of American Education, ed. by H. H. Carter (New York: Pitman, 1965), p. 162. 133M. Gendell, A Sociological Almanac for the US (New York: Scribners, 195AIQ p. 18. 73 school prayer and with decreasing control of the govern- ment over matters which society has labeled as moral. What is the role of the public school teacher vis- a-vis the religious of today and tOmorrow? At every level and in every subject area, from the first grade through the university, we need teachers who are deeply committed and ultimately concerned--teachers who are troubled by the basic human questions and who have the courage to find their own direction.1 This would not be an easy task but the reward would be great. A serious teacher must first be a serious human being. A teacher who has mastered some technical discipline is not, by virtue of that alone, worthy of being a teacher. A teacher who has nothing to communicate as a person, seems . . . to have failed utterly in the most important aspects of his job. . . . [A] school that could transform the indifference, the fearfulness, and the mental flabbiness—-which pass for objectivity--into engagement, concern, and commitment, would be a ‘school that does more to advance the cause of religion than any I can think of today.135 The State Many decisions in education are made on "the assump- tion that the public school's primary responsibility is to train citizens who are useful to their country . . "136 Schools are increasingly regarded as the principal agents l3LAM. Fox, "Religion and the Public Schools-~A PhiIOSOpher's Analysis," Theory Into Practice, Vol. A (February, 1965), A2. l351bid., p. A3. 136R. G. Corwin, A Sociology of Education (New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1965), p. 85- 7A of change for implementing public policies derived 137 If we judge the future through political processes. by historical trends, this phenomenon will persist. Several questions face the schools at this point. "The first is whether any single social institution can perform as numerous functions as those now required of "138 The schools are expected to conserve the schools. social order, transmit the cultural heritage, formulate strategies for social change, and to convince all the public that these are good ideas and that the schools are performing well.139 It is truly debatable whether education based upon strictly national goals is at all defensible in view of the world-wide values necessary to build a viable and just international order.ll40 The forces that are now acting upon the schools will un— doubtedly create significant changes. The changes in our intellectual institutions that will work themsevles out over the next [three decades] . . . are not merely modifications within existing organizations . . . , but more funda- mental developments that will transform old 137J. s. Gow, "Economic, Social and Political Forces," in The Changing American School, 65th Yearbook of the N.S.S.E, Part II, ed. by J. I. Goodlad (Chicago: U. of Chicago Press, 1966), pp. 159-199. 138Yamamoto, "America in Which Children of Middle School Years Will Live," p. 20. 139Ibid. l“0H. Taylor, "National Goals and International Goals," Phi Delta Kappan, Vol. A7 (December, 1965), 175- 179 o 75 institutional forms. . . . As a result, a variety of new organizational forms linked more closely to community needs, to work, and to living cur- rents of industrial-p011tical-intellectual life than to the traditional community of scholars will be developed within, outside, and beside the campus.1 1 Summary Schools are supposed to be capable of solving any social issues and some of the current issues are being debated and even fought in today's schools. Schools are supposed to take today's youth and mold them into tomorrow's leaders. Today's youth are examining the mold and finding it lacking. Teachers are expected to inculcate a degree of commitment into American youth which will advance the objectives of religion without advocating specific religious tenets. Today's schools are also expected to perform their traditional functions while preparing students to live and be productive in a future which might appropriately call for a dissolution of‘the institutions and the traditions the school is sworn to support. l”1H. Orlans, "Educational and Scientific Institu- Ifiions," Daedalus, Vol. 96 (Summer, 1967), 830. CHAPTER III INTERESTS OF MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS The early adolescent boy or girl has many interests. Some of them are continuations of the pursuits of child- 1 young adoles- hool but many are new. In a 1962 study cents in grades 7 and 8 reported, aside from television and radio, such spontaneous activities as hobbies, reading, games, caring for animals, cooking, doing chores at home, riding bicycles, and gardening, plus eating and sleeping. These categories appear to be rather mundane, general classifications that hardly would be helpful to a teacher seeking a student's outlook on life as a clue to that which the child and teacher might believe to be signifi- cant about and for his education. In an era when many peOple go through the motions of living with little evident convictions as to its meaning, it seems apprOpriate to teach child- ren to examine the activities they select for themselves. Even elementary school children may learn to ask, 'Why do I choose to spend my time on this?’ ' Where are children's interests—-specifically, the 113- to lA-year-old? Are these interests reflected in the ls. M. Amatora, "Home Interests in Early Adoles- Cenice," Genetic Psychology Monographs, Vol. 65, 1962, 2Almy, op. cit., p. 102. 76 77 school program? Can a school program be constructed which will utilize children's interests as types of experiences through which a child can better understand himself and his relationship with other people? This chapter will attempt to (1) review some of the studies which illustrate the trends in early- adolescent interests, (2) describe in detail the results of an interest survey conducted by this investigator, and (3) relate the results of the survey to an educational program for middle-school students. Interests will be defined broadly. "A person's wishes directly or indirectly reveal something concerning his outlook on life and what he wants from it. For this reason, findings with regard to the wishes children ex- press might tell us much that is significant for educa- tion."3 Wishes, likes, and dislikes are not necessarily the same as interests, but they do share a common ele- ment, in reflecting, directly or indirectly, what the student would like to do or what appeals to him. The interest inventory will attempt to deal with the wishes, interests, likes and dislikes of middle-school-age child- ren of varying age, sex, race, and religion. 3Jersild and Tasch, op. cit., p. 9. 78 Review of the Literature The Jersild study,“ reported in 19A9, was a broad survey. Pupils in grades 1-12 took part in the study and they represented large—city, small-city, suburban, and small—town communities located in the middle west, in the south, and in several localities within a radius of a hundred miles of New York City. Information was obtained from both Negro schools and white schools. The groups numbered collectively over 2,000 children and the data were all collected subsequent to World War II. The study did not attempt to give a thorough analy- sis of the motives influencing what the children wished, liked best, and disliked most; its aim was to examine the ". . . situations through which children seek to realize their wishes as described in the practical langu— age of everyday life and to examine their conceptions of "5 what they like and do not like at school no matter the underlying motive. The following are the major findings and conclusions of the Jersild study.6 1. Children at all age levels are preoccupied with people and personal relations. 2. There is a strong element of self-interest in children's ideas about life. LlIbid., p. 173. 5Ibid., p. 7. 6Ibid., pp. 71—87. 10. ll. 12. 79 Children at the younger levels attach great importance to gifts. There was much variation between interests of children in different schools. There was evidence that children's interests are learned. The findings showed an increase with age in interest in various forms of self-improvement. At the middle school level (junior high) there appears to be a discrepancy between the stu- dents' goals and their understanding of the goals of the school. The findings evidenced a decline with age in educational morale. Social studies topics were mentioned more unfavorably than favorably throughout the groups. There was frequent mention of chores when children described what they disliked outside school. Many children expressed boredom. There was little overlapping between the things that preoccupied children in school and the things that preoccupied them outside of school. 80 7 of young adolescents in grades A more recent study 7 and 8 indicated that the students in the survey had interests that required initiative on the part of the adolescents. The picture drawn from the results of this study reveals days that are overcrowded to the bursting point with activities initiated by the students. Interest in Television In spite of the complaint that interest in watching television has supplanted all other activities, children and adolescents are involved in many traditional or con- ventional activities during a normal day. According to one study8 homework, home chores, and play occupy nearly 75 per cent of a child's out-of—school leisure time in grades 5-8. However, television has a strong impact on the lives of children of all ages. When asked which medium (books, magazines, newspapers, comics, television, radio, or movies) they would miss most if they did not have it, the children of all ages and levels of intelli- 9 gence voted preponderantly for television. 7Purdue Opinion Panel, "Youth Looks at Politics, College Education, Jobs and Family," Rpport of Poll No. 69 (Lafayette, Ind.: Division of Educational Reference, Purdue, 1960), 22A. 8W. Schramm, J. Lyle, and E. B. Parker, Television in the Lives of Our Children (Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 1961), 32A pp. 9Ibid., p. 235. 81 Interest in Collecting 10 Cole and Hall observed that modern boys and girls still collect things. They reported on three studies11 conducted in the early thirties and concluded that the results were similar to the results of recent studies showing (1) the ages 9 to 13 to be when the collecting mania is normally in full force, (2) that at all ages girls make more collections than boys, and (3) there is no marked difference during adolescence in collecting between rural and urban youth. Interest in Play "The games children play and the intensity of their interests in games or exercise are thus indicative of "12 Since girls mature earlier their developmental age. than boys their social interests appear sooner and their concentration upon organized group games disappears earlier. Play among boys has a definite relation to size, health, and strength. One investigator who selected the highest and lowest 10 per cent in strength and fitness among a group of young adolescent boys found that the high group exceeded the low in all forms of active games, in their spectator interest, and in their 10Cole and Hall, op. cit., p. 18A-185. 11Ibid., p. 185. 12Ibid., p. 188. 82 social activities.13 The 10 per cent with the lowest fitness exceeded the high group in reading and in making things. There is no information as to whether this latter group preferred such activities or indulged in them be- cause they could not compete successfully with their more vigorous age-mates. Interest Questionnaires "Recognizing that a child's happiness and success in school are related to the interests he has, teachers often seek suitable ways of studying interests."ll4 Almy suggests that interest inventories provide significant information for teachers regarding children's attitudes, feelings, as well as specific information about their interests. Regarding the organization and make—up of a questionnaire Almy suggests the following criteria:15 1. The teacher should be certain that the child understands the questions. 2. The teacher needs to ask herself if the answers really reflect what the child feels. 3. All responses should be checked against other available information about the child. 13D. B. Van Dalen, "Differential Analysis of the Play of Adolescent Boys," Journal of Educational Re- search, Al (19A7), 20A-2l3. luAlmy, op. cit., p. 12. 15Ibid., pp. 121-12A. 83 Summary of Review of Literature Early and young adolescents have a plethora of interests. These interests are influenced and learned as a result of home and school experiences. Television has a tremendous impact on children. Physical and social develOpment are closely related to changes in interest patterns of students. Teachers should be aware of the forces which mold children's interests and be alert to Opportunities to utilize these forces in planning ex— periences which will help a child realize his varied potentialities. Analysis of Interest Survey Conducted in Three Suburban School Districts This section of the study deals with children's wishes, interests, likes, and dislikes. The intent was to obtain information concerning children's interests and to ask what they mean for the school. The Interest Inventory The Interest Inventory (see Appendix A) was a one- page form which asked first for the child's name, school age, grade, date, sex, and teacher's name. There was a five letter code box on the upper right—hand corner which was used by the teacher to indicate religion and race. In the "Instructions to Students" the pupils were told that their help is needed in getting information from students were urged to 8A in different parts of the country. They answer freely, to ignore questions they don't wish to answer, and not to worry about spelling. It then asked the students to respond briefly to the following items: 1. 2. If I had three wishes I would ask for: At school I like to learn more about: I don't care to study about: I like best at school: I like least at school: I like best outside school (when I'm not in school): When I'm an adult I want to be: At school I like to work with: A. B. C. D. Just students my own age Students of all ages Just students in my own grade Any student as long as I'm learning In sports and games I want to be with: A. B C. D Just students my own age Students of all ages Just students in my own grade Any students as long as they know what they're doing 85 10. At school I like to work with: A. Just one teacher B. Many teachers 0. Any number of teachers, as long as I Learn The same aim in using items such as these rather than a check list was to allow the students as much freedom as possible to answer in their own words and still be brief. It could be argued that wishes are not necessarily the same as interests; however, they do have a common element for a child's wishes reveal what he would like to do or what experiences appeal to him. How the Inventory Was Used The inventory was administered to all students in grades 5-9 in East Lansing, Michigan; to all students in grades 5-9 in the University Heights section of the Cleveland Heights-University Heights, Ohio schools; and to all students in grades 5—9 in Warrensville, Ohio. Twenty per cent of all responses were used on a random-selection basis. There were A12 East Lansing questionnaires used, 135 from Warrensville and 120 from University Heights. The instrument was administered by teachers in East Lansing and University Heights and all Warrensville administration was done by a single guidance counselor. 86 The teachers were asked (see Appendix B, "Instruc- tion to Teachers) to indicate the child's race and reli- gion as well as answer a question regarding school organization. Teachers were asked to describe their classroom as: A. Self-contained B. Modified self—contained _____ (assisted by some specialists) C. Departmentalized (chiefly taught by specialists) D. Cooperatively taught (two teachers ‘ exchanging some classes) E. Team taught _____ (a team of teachers assigned to one group of students) The teachers were told to check as many of the above as apprOpriate. This information was desired in order to relate it to questions 8—10 of the student inventory. Treatment of Data A set of categories was devised for analyzing the data. Answers that seemed to have a common element were put under common headings. The complete set of categories used in the analysis of children's interests, likes, dislikes and wishes is reproduced in Appendix C. 87 The Groups Studied Pupils in grades 5—9 took part in the study. Most middle school classes are made up of grades 6-8; grades 5—9 were included in order to better establish whether or not there are observable differences in students in— cluded in middle school and those younger and older. In University Heights the students come from pre— dominantly middle class, Jewish homes. Negroes make up less than one per cent of the population. In Warrensville the students come from predominantly lower middle class homes. Four years ago there were no Negroes in the district. Over thirty per cent of the stu— dents are Negro today and the majority of the remainder are second generation Hungarians, Italians, and Poles-- most of whom are Catholic. East Lansing is a middle class community, pre— dominantly Protestant, with less than one per cent Negro students in the schools. The Bounds of This Study The study is frankly an inventory of the wishes, interests, likes and dislikes children express when they are asked simply what they wish and what they like best and dislike most. The study does not purport to give a clinical analysis of the motives underlying these ex- pressions. 88 In the process of examining this information the investigator will also attempt to determine if there are interest trends based on age, race, or religion. Children's Wishes Table 1 reveals that a large prOportion of children at all ages in the survey wish for specific material things, but there is an overall decline with age. The following are other trends relative to age: 1. The children's wishes included a small number pertaining to school subjects. At the middle school level (grades 5-8) negative wishes outnumbered positive wishes ten to one. At the ninth grade level, such nega- tive wishes outnumbered positive ones by two to one. This bit of evidence seems to indicate that middle school pupils see the educational program as less relevant than do senior high pupils. Many of the high school pupils were looking to the future and expressed hope for the future such as being able to use their high school and college experiences to obtain self-improvement. There were relatively few wishes from high school pupils which bore upon the students' contemporary school life. 2. There was no consistent change with age in connection with wishes having to do with intellectual activities such as reading, writing, working with math or scientific exploration. At no level were there many wishes of this sort. 89 TABLE l.--My three wishes including wishes pertaining to life in and out of school. Grade 5 Grade 6 Grade 7 Grade 8 Grade 9 School A B C Avg A B C Avg A B C Avg A B C Avg A B C Avg Category No. 75 27 19 A0+ 82 26 27 A5 89 29 2A A7+ 81 31 23 A5 85 22 27 A5- Percentages A. Material things 35 A8 29 37 A0 35 27 31 2O 35 3O 28 18 27 26 2A 13 25 25 23 B. Sports, play 7 6 5 6 6 5 5' 5 6 5 u 5 5 u 2 A 2 3 2 3 C. People 6 5 A 5 5 A 8 6 5 3 8 5 2 3 7 A l 3 2 2 0. School subjects 2 3 7 5 0 3 7 3 0 5 5 3 l 3 7 A 0 3 8 A E. School fictivities 0 0 O O O O O 0 2 0 O l 3 0 0 1 2 O O 1 F. Love-friendship 6 0 5 A A 0 A 3 2 0 3 2 2 0 2 l A 0 2 2 G. Wisdom 0 O 0 0 3 0 l l 2 O O 1 1 O 1 l l O 2 l . H. Self-improvement 7 3 7 6 7 7 7 7 10 10 5 8 11 ll 5 9 12 10 12 11 I. Misc'l. school 5 1A A 8 7 7 5 6 7 3 6 5 6 9 8 8 5 5 l2 7 J. Freedom 2 O O l 3 O 2 7 3 0 3 2 1 O O O A 0 0 1 K. Benefits to self 5 6 9 7 5 7 10 7 5 9 10 8 8 10 12 10 7 7 7 7 L. Peace 6 6 1A 9 l3 8 12 ll 13 10 10 11 1A 10 9 ll 18 17 10 15 M. Happiness 2 0 3 2 3 3 3 3 10 5 5 7 1A 7 A 8 15 6 3 8 N. Equality 2 0 1 l l l 1 1 3 1 1 2 3 1 2 2 A A 3 A 0. Misc'l. benefits 'to others 7 5 7 6 6 A 6 5 7 5 8 7 7 6 9 7 10 7 7 8 P. Everything-nothing 9 3 9 7 7 A 3 5 6 9 2 6 5 9 8 7 5 10 5 7 School A - East Lansing School B = Warrensville School C = University Heights Note: Each response listed three wishes. The wishes were tallied individually. The percentage is based on three times the number listed. 90 3. Wishes having to do with artistic activities and enjoyment of art were expressed by a limited number of children at all grade levels. Wishes relating to artistic endeavors showed no consistent trend with age. A. As the children grow older an increasing number expressed wishes pertaining to life and school. 5. An impressive number of the older children voiced a desire for skills, qualities, and opportunities that would enable them to be independent and stand on their own two feet. There was an increase with age of the desire to possess the personal qualities, abilities, and skills that would prepare them for the demands of adult life. 6. As the students grow older there is an increase in wishes for benefits to mankind at large. Less than 17 per cent of the fifth grade pupils were concerned with peace, happiness, equality and miscellaneous benefits to others while more than 35 per cent of the ninth graders showed concern in these areas. An average of eight per cent of all ninth graders wished for happiness for themselves or others while an average of only one per cent of all fifth graders ex- pressed this. Peace was a major concern at all grade levels ranging from an average of nine per cent at grade five to fifteen per cent at grade nine. The students 91 generally expressed a desire simply for "peace," although many used the expressions "peace in Vietnam" or "peace in the world." The "peace in Vietnam" expression was more common among Warrensville students who often qualified their wish by commenting that they had a relative in Vietnam. In general, wishes for the intangible and noble ideals increased gradually and steadily from grades five through nine. The only exception was in the peace cate- gory. There were more University Heights fifth graders concerned about peace than University Heights ninth graders. Nearly three times as many ninth graders in the other two districts showed concern with peace as did fifth graders in their districts. 7. In the Jersild studyl6 less than three per cent of the students expressed a wish for a lasting peace while in this study the percentages ranged from three to eighteen per cent, with no grade level average less than nine per cent. The concern gradually increased from nine per cent at grade five to thirteen per cent, as an average, at grade nine. 8. No students in grades five and six expressed wishes pertaining to social activities. Parties, dances, clubs, etc., were not mentioned until grade seven and then by students in only one school district. Only in East 16Ibid., p. 19. 92 Lansing, in grades 7, 8, and 9, were these subjects men- tioned at any of the five grade levels. 9. A trend does develop when wishes categorized as school supjects, miscellaneous school, and benefits to pglfi are examined. The negative feelings the students express about school subjects, school demands, and the benefits they desire for themsevles present a very strong plea from the students for "involvement." The three categories Show a pattern of declining educational morale. The students reported that they liked experiences which enabled them to take the initiative in carrying out activities or gave them a chance to carry a certain amount of responsibility. Interests of this sort should be cultivated and utilized more in the middle school pro— gram. Communitprifferences in Children's Wishes A trend appeared to develop among the three communi- ties in wishes for material things. While all students from grades five to nine showed a decrease in wishes of this type, the decline was more dramatic with East Lansing students. In grade nine nearly twice as many students in the other two districts were still requesting material things as were East Lansing pupils. The shift from grade five to nine was clearly from material things to freedom, peace, happiness, and equality. Those combined areas 93 gained 32 per cent from grades five to nine while material wishes lost 22 per cent. No pupil at any grade level in Warrensville men- tioned love or friendship while these factors were de- sired by as many as six per cent of the students in the other two districts. Differences in Children's Wishes Based on Religious Background The two recognized religious groups in this survey were Jews and gentiles. All non-Jews were considered to be gentiles. Ninety-two per cent of the 120 students in the Uni- versity Heights' sample were Jewish. Jews made up less than one per cent of the population of either of the other two samples. No University Heights (Jewish) students expressed wishes relating to sports or play at the ninth grade level. In the combined areas of "school subjects" and "miscellaneous school wishes" the University Heights stu- dents at grade nine expressed five times as many concerns as did East Lansing students. A desire for good grades was one of the most commonly expressed wishes as was the wish for for involvement. In "benefits to self" the University Heights pupils showed a steady increase from grades five to nine. 9A Fourteen per cent of the ninth graders expressed wishes such as: good luck, good paying job, immunity from injury, and good health. Only University Heights students showed concern over good health. Racial Differences in Children's Wishes Negroes in the study were found in significant numbers only in Warrensville. Thirty per cent of the students in this survey from Warrensville were Negro ‘while the overall student population consisted of 32 jper cent Negro. There were some relatively dramatic differences in the wishes of the Negro and white populations of Warrens- ville: 1. No white Warrensville student expressed a desire :for "equality" or an end to racial prejudice. As many as 550 per cent of the wishes of Negores at certain grade lxevels were in this category. 2. Negro pupils, in the "people" category, wished fkor "teachers who would be fair to everyone" as the single Inost numerous request. 3. There was very little difference between Negro Eind.white in percentage of requests for material things. A. There were numerous wishes by Negro students to return to their "old school" or a ”school in Cleveland." 95 Almost all of these students had moved to Warrensville from Cleveland Within the past four years. Sex Differences in Children's Wishes (Table 2)7 The wishes of the two sexes have some similarities as might be expected after examining other studies.17 However, at all grade levels from two to five times as many girls expressed wishes pertaining to people. Girls mentioned marriage (often wished for happy ones) and having children. They often mentioned teachers and administrators and those they wished association with or riddance of. Girls were more likely to mention companion- ship with parents, wish for siblings to play with or care for, and showed more concern with being separated from parents. Boys expressed an interest in sports that showed three to five times as much interest as girls. Boys longed to be sports heroes or to have more times to engage in games. Very few boys mentioned sedentary con- tests or games of skill. A conspicuously larger percentage of girls than boys expressed a wish for love or friendship. There were many female wishes for companionship, to have friends, to be able to have people come to visit, for boy friends to like them, for boy friends not to move away, and 17Ibid., p. 21. 965 TABLE 2.--Sex differences in children's wishes. Grade 5 Grade 6 Grade 7 Grade 8 Grade 8 School A B C Avg A B C Avg A B C Avg A B C Avg A B C Avg Category B A0 11 10 20 A0 13 1A 22 A0 16 12 33 A0 16 13 23 A5 11 13 23 N0- 0 35 16 9 20 A2 13 13 2A A9 13 12 25 A1 15 10 22 A0 11 1A 22 B 17 2A 15 19 16 1A 12 1A 11 16 15 1A 9 1A 13 12 10 12 12 11 A' Material things G 18 2A 1A 19 1A 11 15 13 9 1A 15 13 9 13 13 12 3 15 15 11 » B 6 5 A 6 5 A A A A 3 3 3 A 3 1 3 2 2 0 1 5' Sp°rt3' play 0 1 1 l l 1 1 1 1 2 2 1 2 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 C Pee 1e B 1 2 1 1 1 1 2 1 2 1 2 3 0 l 2 1 0 0 0 0 ° 9 G 5 3 3 A A 3 6 A 3 2 8 A 2 2 5 3 1 3 2 2 B l 2 A 3 0 2 3 2 0 0 3 1 0 2 3 3 0 1 A 3 D- 5°"°°1 SUDJECPS G 1 1 3 3 0 T A 2 0 2 3 2 1 1 A 3 0 2 A 3 B 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 o o 0 0 0 5- S°°131 acciVitieS G 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 3 0 0 1 2 0 0 1 r l 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 l o 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 o F- Love‘frie"95"ip O 5 0 A \ L C 3 2 2 0 2 1 2 A 2 3 3 0 2 2 G W1 d m L 0 0 0 0 0 s l c 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 - 5 0 a c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 B 7 A 7 1 A 6 2 6 1 2 6 2 A H. Self-improvement o 5 , 3 3 5 2 3 A A 1 3 3 g 1 3 3 6 g 3 I u: "1 h: 1 F 9 7 : A . A 2 5 3 3 3 A A A 3 3 5 A ' 1‘ 5° ' SC CC r: r‘ 7 3 A 3 7 g 1‘ 5 5 3 A 3 5 A A 2 2 7 A 7 Fr ed r n 0 0 0 a l 0 l 0 1 l 1 0 0 0 2 u c 1 ' - e O” G O 0 0 C 0 o l 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 R l 2 2 1 F 7 1 : 2 2 1 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 A K. Benefits to 391? G ‘I' 11 7 la 7’ L 6 F I u 6 6 8 8 7 5 8 l“ g I: 3 7 6 A A 5 6 6 7 5 A 5 9 9 l 6 In Peace G 5 , 6 3 ~ A R 6 7 5 A f 7 5 F 6 9 8 2 t P . O . l 1 . 1 c 3 1 3 7 3 2 5 9 3 l A "- Happiness . u . 1 0 0 1 2 1 5 2 A A 7 A 2 A 6 3 3 A P 0 9 l O c 0 l 0 2 1 2 3 2 0 0 1 2 2 2 2 N‘ Equality G O I» 0 0 l 1 0 1 1 0 0 (I 1 l 22 l 2 2 2 0. Misc'l. benefits E: A 3 3: _-’ 3 fi’ 2 2 A 1 A 3 3 5 A A 5 L A 5 to others 7; i Z. A 3 3 2 A 3 3 2 A 3 A 5 5 5 5 6 ‘ h r 1 A 3 J 2 A A A A S P- Everything-nothim'. , I). 2 E. A 3 2 3 3 3 3 A 3 134 5 5 5 5 6 5 5 \ School AA == East Lansing Cchocl P = Warrensville School C = University Heights 97 to be asked for a date. There were enough female wishes for love and friendship that it was assumed a separate category apart from people wishes. Findings on the School Program Tables 3 and A asked pupils what they would like to learn more about in school and what they did not care to study about. In all schools and at all levels, items in the broad category that includes academic subject matter areas were mentioned most frequently when students told what they liked to learn more about in school. Mathematics, science, and the broad category of language arts generally scored highest in popularity. Interest in learning more about sports and games gradually declined from an average of eight per cent at grade five to an average of two per cent at grade nine. Parties, dances and social affairs showed an unusual pattern: no one in either grade five or grade nine indicated an interest in learning more about those areas while from one to three per cent of pupils in grades six to eight showed some interest. Interest in learning more about social problems (pollution, discrimination, civil rights, etc.) was evi- dent at all levels, gradually and consistently increasing from two per cent at grade five to eleven per cent at grade nine. S98 muszom OuHOLm>HCD u o Hoocom OHHH>OCOLLO3 n m Hoonom mcHOCOH Ommm u < Hoocom HH OH O O O O O O O O O O O O O O N O N O OEOHOOOO HOHOOO .O O O O O H N H O O H O O H N H O H O N O OOOOOOEOO .O O O O O O O O O O O O N O O OH HH OH OH O NH OOHOOOOO>O1OOHOOOZ .H O O HH O O O O O O O O O O O O O N O O N OcOeO>OOOEHIOHOO .O O O O N O O N O O O N O N N H O O O N O OHmsz .O O O O O O O O O O O O O H O H N O O O O OOOO HOHOOOOOOH .O O O O N N N O N O H O N H O O O N O O O OOHeOcoOO esom .O O O O O O H O O O O O O O O O O O O O O OO< .O ON ON NH ON OH ON NH HN OH OH O OH HH OH OH OH OH OH OH OH OOcOHOO O H NH HH O H OH O NH HH OH O OH OH HH HH NH NH OH OH msochHHmomOz O O O O O H O O O N O O O O O O O NH O N OOHOOOO HOHOOO O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O OH O O OOHOOO NH OH O OH NH OH O NH OH OH HH OH OH OH NH OH OH OH NH OH OOOOOOOO O O O O O O O O H O N H O O O N O O O O OOHHHOOO HH OH O NH NH OH O OH OH HH O OH NH NH O OH OH NH OH OH gum: OOOOOE OOOOOOO .O O O O O N H N N N N H N H O O H O O O O mmoeme .OOHOOOO .O N O O N O O O O O O O O O. O O O O O O O moEOO .mpgoqm .O Omwmpcooaom OO ON NN OO OO ON HO HO OO ON ON OO OO ON ON NO O>< O O < O>< O O O O>< O O O O>< O O < O>< O O < Hoogom m compo m compo O compo O oumno . m mompo OO OH ON OO Opommpmo ..Hoonom CO usonm MLOE Gamma 0» mxHH n.H pm£311.m mqm¢8 TABLE A.--I don't care to study about. 99 Category 82 26 27 AS 89 29 2“ A7 School A B C Avg A B C Avg A B C Avg A B C Avg A B C Avg 81 31 23 A5 85 22 27 A5 Percentages N. Sports, games Math Spelling English usage Reading Science Health Social Studies Art Music Industrial Arts Home Economics Foreign language Typing Nothing-everything Homework 11 15 16 17 11 \O \O 10 12 11 17 School A = East Lansing Grade 5 , 72 27 19 A0 3 2 2 2 1A 16 10 13 7 8 10 8 2 1 3 2 12 13 10 12 9 2 S 5 O l 3 1 8 9 6 8 0 7 3 3 6957 O O O O O O 0 O O O 12 A O O O O 2O l7 l9 19 19 16 12 16 School B Warrensville University Heights R) [‘0 100 By way of contrast the very subjects students wanted to learn more about (math, language arts, science) were the subjects students indicated (see Table A) that didn't care to study about. However, the most unpopular subject areas of all seem to be science, English usage, and foreign language. An average of 20 per cent of all eighth grades showed a dislike for foreign language and this is in spite of the fact that it is not a basic subject that all pupils must take. The unpopularity of social studies grew through the years until by grade nine it was the most unpOpular at that level. The unfavorable attitude which children show toward the social studies as they are taught in the schools becomes more significant when considered in rela- tion to other findings. Eleven per cent of all ninth ‘graders (MSper cent of East Lansing students) wanted to learn more about social problems while 17 per cent of all ninth graders "didn't care to study about" social studies. Could it be that a study of social problems might make social studies a more appealing and more relevant area of study? Out-of—School Interests In order to obtain a balanced picture of children's interests outside school, the inventory asked what they liked best outside of school. 101 At all age levels the most popular things outside of school are those falling in the category which includes sports, games, play and the like (Table 5). About 60 per cent of the students at all levels named events in this category. Other popular features of out—of—school life include going to recreational spots, going to the movies, theater and watching television, and being with people. While the replies cover a large range, it is apparent that experiences involving bodily activity, doing something or going somewhere, are much more promi- nent than activities of a more intellectual character. Age Trends There are certain age trends, more or less in keep- ing with what might be expected in what children like best outside school. There is an increase with age in the popularity of social activities, and a slight increase in mention of matters pertaining to self—improvement which includes vocational preparation. Interest in the arts doubled between grades five and nine. School in Children's Preoccupations Results of this study indicate that the school does not enter as deeply into a student's preoccupations as do many other things in his life. Most children 102 TABLE S.—-I like best outside school--when I'm not in school. Grade 5 Grade 6 Grade 7 Grade 8 Grade 9 School A h C Avg A E C Avg A B C Avg A B C Avg A B C Avg Category No. 75 27 19 b0 86 26 27 US 89 29 2b #7 81 31 23 b5 85 22 27 AS Percentages A. Material things 1 l l l l O l l O 2 l l l O 1 l 2 l l l 8. Sports, games 61 67 62 67 6O 67 55 b0 58 55 59 57 59 60 55 58 55 56 6O 57 C. Recreational spots 10 11 1b 1; 7 10 12 10 10 9 13 11 Q 8 8 8 6 3 8 6 D. Movies, theater 3 5 7 5 6 5 3 5 E 7 6 7 7 9 6 7 6 7 5 6 E. Social activities 2 2 l 2 _ J b A U 6 E 5 5 6 6 6 7 8 9 8 F. Areas of study 1 0 1 l 1 O l 1 l l O l O O l O O 1 1 l p, . Arts 3 _‘~ u 3 14 C L 5 3 F 5 5 3 ‘5 7 5 u 7 6 H. Pomesti: art: 1 1 2 1 l l i l 1 O O O 1 O 1 l l 0 O O 1. Hobbies 3 3 A 2 ’ Y a f D Q 3 2 2 1 1 1 2 3 1 2 J. Sclf~imprcvewemi 1 fl 1 1 T 1 ; 2 3 3 E 3 1 3 O 1 3 3 A 3 K. Benefit: to self 1 U C U 1 ' 1 1 1 C ' F H l O F 1 1 O 1 L. benefits to others 3 C i W C 2 Q 0 O O O W 0 O O O O O O J v. People 3 g u g n g 3 “ r a 1 , 5 3 3 u u 2 2 3 H. Hiscellaneous 7 3 1 h d H 1 3 1 3 1 2 l 3 1 3 3 2 1 2 0. Everything—nothing 3 2 1 2 2 2 2 I“ 1 3 l 2 2 1 6 3 2 3 2 3 F. Loaf l l 0 1 2 3 2 2 l 1 2 l 2 2 6 3 2 5 O 3 ,1 School A = hast Lansing School % = Warrensville dchocl _ = University Heights 103 exhibit little overlap between interests in school and out of school when describing what they wish for and what they like best. There is little or no reference to school projects in connection with experiences that the child regards as most appealing in his out-of—school life. In most of the groups in this study, a majority of children seemed neither especially enthusiastic nor especially disgruntled with school. Rather, they seemed to take school in stride as a routine assignment. School life is apparently not so challenging that children spontaneously think of it when questions are asked in a manner that directs their thoughts away from school. The fact that children do not seem to be very much preoccupied by school does not mean that school is un- important to them. The student who does not think of school as one of the most vital things in his life prob— ably will be affected by failure or success in school and will be sensitive to social difficulties in his relations with other children at school. Likes and Dislikes at School Question four of the inventory (I like best at school) and question five (I like least at school) did not prove to be very discriminating questions. They appeared to almost exactly duplicate questions two and three which asked students what they would like to 10“ learn more about and what they didn't care to study about. What the student liked to learn more about was generally listed as what he liked best at school. That which the student didn't care to study about was usually that which he liked least at school. The major exception was a mention of homework. Five per cent of the students at all levels mentioned homework as that which they liked least at school. Adult Goals Question seven asked the students to tell what they wanted to be as an adult. There were no age, community, race, or religious trends that could be observed. The most typical response would list several vocations. The only category that received as many as four per cent of the responses was: "I don't know yet" or "I haven't decided." School Organization Questions eight, nine, and ten were designed to determine attitudes students might have about school organizations. Students were asked in question eight if they preferred to work with just students their own age, stu- dents of all ages, students in their own grade, or any students as long as they were learning. 105 Question nine asked about sports and games. Question ten asked the student if he would like to work with just one teacher, many teachers, or any number of teachers as long as the student was learning. In the "Instructions to Teachers" (Appendix B) the teacher was asked to identify her class as one taught on a self-contained baSis, modified self-contained, coop- eratively taught, or team taught. This information was requested in order to determine whether or not the stu- dents' own classroom organization had any relationship to his preference for school organization. Table 6 reveals the following about the organiza- tional patterns in the three districts: 1. No teachers identified their classrooms as being completely self-contained. 2. The modified self—contained classroom was the dominant structure in all districts in grades five and six. 3. Departmentalization or a combination of de- partmentalization and team teaching prevailed in grades seven through nine. Table 7 reveals several trends regarding student preferences in working and playing with students and working with teachers: 106 O O OOH O O OOH O O OOH O O Om O O Om OONHHOOOOEOLOOOO ocm unwomu some .O O O O O O O O O O O O OH O O MH pcmsap same .m o O o o o o o o O om o om mm o OH unmSMp mHm>Hpmpmoooo .2 OOH OOH O OOH OOH O OOH OOH O O O O O O O UmNHHMmeEpLMQmQ .m O O O O O O O O O om OOH om mm OOH om Umchucoo Imem UmHMHvoE .N O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O UmQHMpQOOIMHmm .H mmwmocmosmm O m < O m a O m a O m a O m a Hoosom OOHpmNHcmwso m mommw O mwmsw O mvmnw w momoc m momsw .mo>s:m mop CH mEoopmmmHo mo COHOONHcmwao mo momenl.m mqmclosely-related recommen— dations that deserve recognition. 1. Local boards of education should be discouraged from adopting middle school programs unless they intend to offer a unique educational program. Eliminating the ninth grade from junior high is not reason enough for establishing a middle school. Boards of education should also accept the responsibility to construct new or re- modeled plants for middle school programs in order to facilitate putting a flexible middle school philOSOphy into effect. 2. Middle school programs with diverse electives and adequate individual and group planning time will be 133 a more costly program than will the self-contained ele- mentary programs that provide the additional students. Boards of education will need to appropriate more money to cover the increased cost of a middle school Operation. State departments of education and school board associa— tions should urge that state aid to schools recognize the increased cost factor and alter state reimbursement F formulas to help meet increased costs. 3. State certification standards should be altered to recognize the need for teachers and administrators who are trained specifically for the middle school. A. School systems that continue a graded program out Of choice or necessity should consider an organiza— tional pattern with the elementary grades ranging from prekindergarten to grade five, a middle school of grades six to eight, and a nine through twelve high school. 5. School districts should adopt middle school programs only after a thorough community study of exist— ing programs. The transition to middle school should not be implemented until the professional staff and the community accepts the commitment to a middle school pro- gram with clearly defined goals. Middle school will not save money and they will Offer a more flexible, exploratory program that corresponds to students' maturational pat— terns. Parent understanding of these differences is vital to the success of a new program. BIBLIOGRAPHY F‘s—J . BIBLIOGRAPHY Books Alexander, W. M., et al. The Emergent Middle School. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1968. Almy, Millie. Ways of Studyinnghildren. New York: Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia, 1959. Ambrose, E., and Miel, A. Children's Social Learning. Washington: ASCD-NEA, 1958. Bruner, Jerome S. The Process of Education. New York: Random House, 1960. . Toward a Theopy Of Instruction. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press, 1966. Cole, Luella, and Hall, Irma N. Psychology Of Adoles- cence. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1953. Coleman, James S., et al. Equality of Educational Opportunity. Washington, D.C.: Government Print— ing Office, U. S. Office of Education Survey, I966. Conant, James B. Recommendations for Education in the Junior High Years. Princeton, New Jersey: Educa— tional Testing Service, 1960. Corwin, R. C. A Sociology of Education. New York: Appleton-Century Crofts, 1965. Eichhorn, Donald H. The Middle School. New York: Center for Applied Research in Education, Inc., 1966. English, O. Spurgeon, and Pearson, Gerald H. J. Emotional Problems Of Living. New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 1955. Flavell, J. The Developmental Psychology of Jean Piaget. New York: D. Van Nostrand Co., 1963. 135 136 Frank, M., and Frank, L. Your Adolescent at Home and in School. New York: The Viking Press, 1956. Gagné, R. M. The Conditions Of Learning. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1965. Gendell, M. A Sociological Almanac for the United States. New York: Scribners, 1963. Gesell, A.; Ilg, Frances I.; and Ames, L. B. The Years from Ten to Sixteen. New York: Harper and Row, 1956. Gesell, Arnold, and Ilg, Frances L. The Child From Five to Ten. New York: Harper and Brothers Publishing, 1956. Goodlad, John I, and Anderson, Robert H. The Nongraded Elementary School. New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, Inc., 1963. Grooms, M. Ann. Perspectives on the Middle School. Columbus: Charles E. Merrill Books, Inc., 1967. Guilford, J. P. "Three Faces of Intellect." The Adoles- cent. Edited by J. Seidman. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1960. Holt, John. How Children Fail. New York: Pitman Pub- lishing Co., 196”. Horton, P. B., and Hunt, C. L. Sociology. New York: McGraw—Hill, 196A. Hutt, Max L., and Gibby, Robert G. The Child. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, Inc., 1959. Inhelder, B., and Piaget, J. The Growth of Logical Thinking from Childhood to Adolescence. New York: Basic Books, Inc., 1958. Jersild, Arthur T. In Search of Self. New York: Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia, 1952. . The Psychology of Adolescence. New'York: The MacMillan Company, 1963. Jersild, Arthur T., and Tasch, Ruth J. Children's Interests. New York: Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University, 19u9. 137 Josselyn, Irene M. The Adolescent and His World. New York: Family Services Association of America, 1952. Kimball, Solon T., and McClellan, J. E. Education and the New America. New York: Random House, 1962. Kinsey, A. C., et al. Sexual Behavior in the Human Male. Philadelphia: Saunders, l9h8. . Sexual Behavior in the Human Female. Philadel- phia: Saunders, 1953. Lawrence, M., and Lawrence, F. K. Your Adolescent at Home and at School. New York: The Viking Press, 1956. . Learning and Teaching in Atlanta Public Schools. Princeton: Educational Testing Service, 1956. Pettigrew, T. F. Social-Psychological Considerations of Racially—Balanced Schools. A Report of the Advisory Committee on Racial Imbalance and Educa- tion. Boston, Mass.: State Board of Education, April, 1965. Piaget, Jean. The Psychology of Intelligence. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1950. POpper, Samuel H. The American Middle School. Waltham, Mass.: Blaisdell Publishing Company, 1967. Redl, Fritz. When We Deal with Children. New York: The Free Press, 1967. Schramm, W.; Lyle, J.; and Parker, E. B. Television in the Lives of Our Children. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 1961. Seagoe, M. V. A Teacher's Guide to the Learning Process. Dubuque: William C. Brown Co., 1956. Sears, R. R.; Maccoby, E. E.; and Leving, H. Patterns of Child Rearing. Evanston: Row—Peterson, 1957. Smart, M. S., and Smart, R. C. CHILDREN; Development and Relationships. New York: MacMillan, 1967. Tanner, J. M. Growth and Adolescence. Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publications, 1963. 138 U. S. Commission on Civil Rights. Racial Isolation in the Public Schools. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1967. Weinberg, M. Research on School Desegregation. Chicago: Integrated Education Associates, 1965. Articles and Periodicals Amatora, S. M. "Home Interests in Early Adolescence." Genetic Psychology Monographs, Vol. 65 (1962), 157-175. Barbe, W. B., and Waterhouse, T. S. "An Experimental Program in Reading." Elementary English, Vol. 33 (1956), 102—10A. Bauer, F. C. "Fact and Folklore About Adolescents." Bulletin of the NASSP, Vol. 49:299 (March, 1965), 179. Bayley, Nancy. "Mental Growth and Development." The Adolescent. Edited by J. Seidman. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1960. Borg, William B. "Ability Grouping in the Public Schools." Madison, Wisconsin: Dembar Education Research Services, Inc., 1966. Borrowman, M. L. "Traditional Values and the Shaping of American Education!‘ Social Forces Influencing American Education. 60th Yearbook Of the NSSE. Edited by Nelson B. Henry. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1961. Boyer, W. H., and Walsh, P. "Are Children Born Unequa1/" Saturday Review, October 19, 1968, p. 63. Breidenstine, A. G. "The Education of Pupils in Differ— entiated and Undifferentiated Groups." Journal of Experimental Psychology, Vol. 5 (September, 1936), 91-135- Brown vs. Board of Education. 347 U. S. A83 (195a). As quoted by Kenneth Clark,'Educationa1 Stimulation of Racially Disadvantaged Children." Education in Depressed Areas. Edited by A. H. Passow. New York: Teachers College, Columbia University, 1963. 139 Budde, Ray. "(5)-6-7—8, The Middle School of the Future." The Michigan Journal of Secondary Education, 6:1 (Fall, 196A7, A3. Coleman, James S. "Social Change: Impact on the Adoles- cent." Bulletin of the NAASP, Vol. 3 (October, 1966), 8. Cuff, William A. "Middle Schools on the March." The Bulletin of the National Association of Secondary School Principals, 51 (Feb., 1967), 82-86. Espenachade, Anna, and Meleney, H. E. "Motor Performance of Boys and Girls." The Research Quarterly of the AHPER, Vol. 32 (May, 19617, 187. Faust, M. S. "Developmental Maturity as a Detriment in Prestige of Adolescent Girls." Child Development, Vol. 31 (1960), 182-183. Fischer, John H. "Race and Reconciliation: The Role of the School." Daedalus, Vol 26 (Winter, 1966), 95. Fox, M. "Religion and the Public Schools—-A Philosopher's Analysis." Theopy Into Practice, Vol A (February, 1965), A2. Gow, J. S. "Economic, Social and POlitical Forces." The Changing American School. 65th Yearbook Of the NSSE, Part II. Edited by John Goodlad. Chicago: University Of Chicago Press, 1966. Grambs, G. "A Guide to School Integration." Public Affairs Pamphlet NO. 255. Grooms, Ann. "The Middle School and Other Innovations." The Bulletin of the NAASP, Some Papers from the Slst Annual Convention, 51:319 (May, 1967), 158. Hartill, R. M. "Homogeneous Grouping As a Policy in the Elementary Schools of New York City." Contri- butions to Education #690, Teachers College, Columbia, 1937. Hathaway, M. L. "Heights and Weights of Children in the United States." Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1957, Hoover, Kenneth. "An Experiment on Grouping Within the Classroom." School Review, Vol. A8 (May, 19AO), 355-362. 1A0 Jones, Mary C. "The Later Careers of Boys Who Were Early- or Late-Maturing." Child Development, Vol. 28 (March, 1957), 113-128. Jones, March 0., and Bayley, N. "Physical Maturing Among Boys as Related to Behavior." Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol “I (1950), 121-198. Kimball, Solon T. "Cultural Influences Shaping the Role Of the Child." National Elementary Principal, Vol. A0 (September, 1961), 28-32. _, Luchins, A. S., and Luchins, E. H. "Children's Attitudes A Toward Homogeneous Grouping." Pedagogical Seminary, Vol. 72 (1948), 13-19. Madden, W. "Education for Religious Quality in Experience." Intellectual Foundations of American Education. Edited by H. H. Carter. New York: Pitman, 1965. Mead, Margaret. "The Concemporary Family as an Anthro— pologist Sees it." The Adolescent. Edited by J. M. Seidman. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1960. "Early Adolescence in the United States." A chapter from "The Changing Junior High School Stu— dent." Bulletin of NASSP, A9z300 (April, 1965), 5-10. Meredith, H. V. "Stature and Weight of Children of the U. S. A. with Reference tO the Influence Of Racial, Regional, SociO—economic and Secular Factors." American Journal Of Diseases of Childhood, Vol. 57 (November, 19Dl): 932. Mills, C. A. "Temperature Influence Over Human Growth and Development." Human Biology, Vol. 22 (February, 1950), 71. Mussen, V. H., and Jones, Mary C. "Self-Conceptions, Motivations, and Interpersonal Attitudes Of Late— Maturing and Early Maturing Boys." Child Develop— ment, Vol. 28, No. 2 (1957), 243—265. Nathanson, I.; Towne, L.; and Aub, J. C. "Urinary Sex Hormone Studies." Phypique, Personality, and Scholar— ship. Edited by R. N. Sanford. A monograph Of the Society for Research in Child Development, Vol. 8 (19"3), 70—81. 191 Nathanson, I.; Towne, L.; and Aub, J. C. "What Type of Middle School Organization Provides the Greatest Opportunity for the DeveIOpment Of the Adolescent?" Improvement in Secondary Education Through Studies. Sixteenth Yearbook, Penn. Branch Nagional Association of Secondary School Principals, 19 O. Orlans, H. "Educational and Scientific Institutions." Daedalus, Vol. 96 (Summer, 1967), 830. Pettigrew, T. "The Case for School Integration." Doe "m centralization and Racial Integration. Edited by C. F. Johnson and M. D. Usdan. New York: Teachers College, Columbia, 1968). upffli-fff-‘W Purdue Opinion Panel. "Youth Looks at Politics, College Education, Jobs and Family." Report Of Pole No. 60. Lafayette, Ind: Division of Educational Reference, Purdue, 1960. Regan, Eugene E. "The Junior High School is Dead." The Clearing House, A2:3 (November, 1967), 151. Rosenthal, R., and Jacobson, L. "Teachers' Expectancies: Determinant Of Pupil I. Q. Gains." Psychological Reports, Vol. 19 (1966), 115—118. Schrag, Peter. "Education's Romantic Critics." Saturday Review, February 18, 1968, p. 80. Shannon, J. R. "Homogeneous Grouping and Pupil Attention in Junior High Schools." Teachers College Journal, Vol. 12 (19u1), 49-57. Simpson, E. L. "The Individual in the Group." Phi Delta Kappan, 50:6 (February, 1969), 322-323. Sizer, T. F. "Reform Movement on Panacea?" Saturday Review, June 19, 1965, pp. 52-53, 72- Sollenberger, R. I. "Some Relationships Between the Urinary Excretion of Male Hormones By Maturing Boys and Girls and Their Expressed Interests and Attitudes." Journal of Psychology, Vol. 9 (1940), 179-189. Stone, C. P., and Barker, R. G. "The Attitudes and Interests of Premenarcheal and Postmenarcheal Girls." Journal of Centeid Psychology, Vol. 5A (1939), 6ll62. 142 Taylor, Harold. "National Goals and International Goals." Phi Delta Kappan, Vol. 47 (December, 1965), 175-179. Van Dalen, D. B. "Differential Analysis of the Plan of Adolescent Boys." Journal of Educational Research, Vol. 41 (1947), 204—213. Waller, L. "Our Ultimate Goal." Social Education, 31:8 (December, 1967), 702. Wattenberg, William W. "The Junior High--A Psycholo- gist's View." The Bulletin of the NAASP, Vol. 49: 300 (April, 1965), 34. Wey, H. "Desegregation, It Works." Phi Delta Kappan, Vol. 25:9 (May, 1964), 382-387. Uppublished Materials Eichhorn, Donald H. "New Knowledge of the 10 Through 13 Year—Olds." Paper presented at the Conference on the Middle School Idea, Nov. 11, 1967, at the College Of Education, University of Toledo, p. l. Vars, G. F. "New Knowledge of the Learner and His Cultural Milieu: Implications for Schooling in the Middle Years." Paper presented at the 11th Annual Fall Conference of the College of Education, Uni- versity of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio, November 11, 1967, p. l. Yamamoto, K. "America in Which Children Of the Middle Years Will Live: An Education Perspective." A paper presented at the 1967 Fall Conference on "The Middle School Idea," at the College Of Educa- tion, University of Toledo, Ohio, November 11, 1967, p. 15. . "Children Under Pressure." A paper presented at the 22nd Annual Conference of the ASCP, Dallas, Texas, March, 1967. APPENDICES APPENDIX A THE INTEREST INVENTORY Students DO Not Student's Write In This Box P- Name School ‘ Boy A Age Grade Date Girl B C Teachers's Name D I E INSTRUCTIONS TO THE STUDENT: Your help is needed in getting information from students in different parts of the country. Feel free to answer as you wish. Don't worry about spelling. If there is any question you don't wish to answer, leave the space blank. Use pen or pencil. 1. If I had three wishes I would ask for: A. B. C. 2. At school I like to learn more about: 3. I don't care to study about: 4. I like best at school: 5. I like least at school: 6. I like best outside school (when I'm not in school): 7. When I'm an adult I want to be: 144 10. 145 At school I like to work with: A. Just students my own age B. Students Of all ages C. Just students in my own grade D. Any students as long as I'm learning In sports and games I want to be with: Just students my own age Students Of all ages Just students in my own grade Any students as long as they know what they are doing UOUJID At school I like to work with: A. Just one teacher B. Many teachers C. Any number of teachers, as long as I learn APPENDIX B THE INTEREST INVENTORY INSTRUCTIONS FOR TEACHERS This inventory is part Of a study of the influence Of pupil interests on educational programs. Your help in gathering data for the study will be greatly appreciated. The questions have been structured to avoid embar- rassment; we feel there will be few Objections by the students. We want them to answer candidly without strug- gling to give the "right" answer. Code for box on the inventory: A. Negro B. Caucasian C. Oriental D. Jewish E. Gentile Teachers are asked to check two places on each in- ventory to indicate race and religion. For the purposes Of this study we will consider any student a Gentile who is not Jewish. It would be helpful in analyzing the data if you could answer the following questions and return this sheet with your completed inventories: 1. Would you describe your classroom as: (Check as many as are apprOpriate) A. Self-contained B. Modified self-contained (assisted by some specialists) C. Departmentalized (chiefly taught by specialists) 146 147 D. Cooperatively taught (two teachers exchanging some classes) E. Team taught (a team of teachers assigned to one group Of students) Thank you for your cooperation. You will be given instructions concerning the return of these inventories by the person providing you with them. In H 3.“.-us Q APPENDIX C CATEGORIES USED IN ANALYSIS OF CHILDRENS' WISHES, LIKES AND DISLIKES b '1'!“ 1. Material Things: specific Objects, animals, specific amounts of money, houses, toys, vehicle, pets, equipment, clothes. 2. Sports and Play: recess time, gym activities, spring, summer and winter sports, outdoor activities, in- door games, watching and playing games; camping, trips to parks and beaches. 3. People: positive and negative feelings about teachers, parents, relatives and acquaintances, identifi- cation with other people, companionship with parents and relatives, wishes for increased family size, being with the family, being separated from the family and babysitting. 4. School Subjects: positive and negative feelings about specific subjects and activities related to those subjects, grades, and homework related to specific subjects. 5. Social Activities: parties, dances, clubs, and youth organizations Of a variety Of types. 6. Love, Friendship: general positive and negative feelings about the opposite sex, getting a date, asking for a date, getting and keeping friends, giving presents or 148 149 receiving presents from friends, getting married, being loved by any relative or non-relative, being helped by a friend, how to make a friend, and how to be popular. 7. Wisdom: to be bright, smart, or to learn, to grow in understanding of self and others, know all about people, psychology, and the human mind. 8. Self-Improvement: intellectual and educational self-improvement, finish school, musical success, go to f college, graduate from college, develop a better personality, have positive religious experiences, develOp vocational skills, and being recognized as improved in various abili— ties. 9. Miscellaneous School: positive or negative views of going to school, when school starts, homework, daily work, changes in school program, relief from bore— dom of school, dropping out, wish for end Of school, general wishes about easier grading or fairer grading, rules and restraints, buses, tests, cafeterias, and general tasks related to school work. 10. Freedom: general and specific wishes about freedom for individuals and groups. 11. Benefits to Self: good health, good luck, success in life, prosperous future, good paying job, physical well-being, recover from illness, and immunity to pain. 150 12. Peace: peace in Vietnam, peace all over the world or forever, peace in the cities and schools and colleges, end to war, and end to violence. 13. Happiness: happy days, happy future, wishes for "Happiness," happy summer, vacation and holidays. 14. Equality: equal rights, privileges and re- sponsibilities for all regardless of race, regardless of nationality, or family wealth, equality by law, and fair play. 15. Miscellaneous Benefits to Others: good health to friends and relatives; friends and relatives to get well, philanthropy, no more sickness, end to crippling diseases, no more poverty or hunger. l6. Everything-Nothing: no more questionnaires, more wishes, all the money in the world, supernatural powers, and other impossible requests. . my "I71141111717111.1171I